Food and drink · Metro area · South Carolina
Sit-down restaurants in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area
How the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #266 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 2,334
- 666 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 879
- +8.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On food away from home · $4,104 a household
- Spending per listing
- $591K
- 11% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 69.5
- 13% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 889,263
- +10.7% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area
The site report maps the sit-down restaurants on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,334 sit-down restaurants in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 69.5 per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $4,104 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area spend about $1.4B a year on food away from home. That works out to $591K per restaurant, 11% below the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area was 879 in 2023, up 8.4% from 2019. That is one for every 382 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 161 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 23 SBA-backed loans worth $18M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +10.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area is 42 (lower middle), #266 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Charleston-North Charleston metro area compares
The same measures for South Carolina and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the sit-down restaurants counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Charleston-North Charleston metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 69.5 | 59.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $591K | $611K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 382 | 462 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.4% | +5.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.7% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,104 | $3,660 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $85,254 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 879+8.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 21,033
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $631M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 161Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2,334666 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2,077The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 23
- Amount
- $18M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 889,263+10.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,865
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 2,590 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 322
- Median household income
- $85,254+33.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $118,282
- Median home value
- $377,500
- Jobs located here
- 390,960
- Daytime population
- 849,978Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-down restaurants across South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charleston-North Charleston metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 65 | 5,831 | 54.2 | $758K | +10.1% | #81 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 56 | 1,227 | 52.9 | $691K | +4.7% | #139 of 387 |
| 1Columbia, SC | 49 | 1,786 | 52.6 | $690K | +6.0% | #197 of 387 |
| 2Sumter, SC | 48 | 186 | 45.3 | $721K | −0.3% | #209 of 387 |
| 3Spartanburg, SC | 47 | 751 | 52.4 | $659K | +14.3% | #215 of 387 |
| 4Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 42 | 2,334 | 69.5 | $591K | +10.7% | #266 of 387 |
| 5Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 39 | 2,321 | 60.5 | $611K | +9.0% | #283 of 387 |
| 6Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 36 | 785 | 82.2 | $501K | +12.0% | #305 of 387 |
| 7Florence, SC | 25 | 414 | 52.8 | $619K | +0.9% | #360 of 387 |
| 8Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 25 | 1,512 | 95.2 | $368K | +20.9% | #365 of 387 |
Other business types in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes46
- Sit-down restaurants42
- Fast food and sandwich shops69
- Pizza71
- Coffee shops and cafes66
- Bakeries and dessert shops64
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many sit-down restaurants are in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?
There are 2,334 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area as of September 2026. 666 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 879 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 8.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 161 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area spend on food away from home?
About $1.4B a year, or $4,104 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,334 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $591K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 335,865 households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 69.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $591K, 11% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 2,077, against 2,334 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 382 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charleston-North Charleston metro area at 889,263 people in 2025, up 10.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,865 households. The median household income in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area is $85,254 a year, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.9% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 42 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #266 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. It maps the sit-down restaurants on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for sit-down restaurants · All 56 business types in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.