Food and drink · Metro area · South Carolina
Sit-down restaurants in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #305 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 785
- 181 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 328
- +0.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $393.1M
- On food away from home · $4,118 a household
- Spending per listing
- $501K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 82.2
- 34% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 242,966
- +12.0% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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
For sit-down restaurants, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #305 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 785 sit-down restaurants in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area. Chain locations make up 23% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 82.2 per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $4,118 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area spend about $393.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 785 sit-down restaurants, that is $501K per restaurant, 25% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 328 businesses with payroll in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area classed as full-service restaurants, up 0.6% from 2019. That is one for every 291 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 18 SBA-backed loans worth $13.2M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +12.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 82.2 | 59.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $501K | $611K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 291 | 462 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +0.6% | +5.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +12.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,118 | $3,660 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $83,304 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 36 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 328+0.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 6,941
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $201.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 68Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 785181 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 592The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 18
- Amount
- $13.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 242,966+12.0% since 2020
- Households
- 95,451
- Median age
- 47.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,231 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 185
- Median household income
- $83,304+28.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $120,028
- Median home value
- $439,500
- Jobs located here
- 79,620
- Daytime population
- 225,611Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes41
- Sit-down restaurants36
- Fast food and sandwich shops81
- Pizza73
- 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area?
There are 785 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area as of September 2026. 181 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 328 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 0.6% from 2019. Another 68 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area spend on food away from home?
About $393.1M a year, or $4,118 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 785 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $501K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 95,451 households in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area has 82.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $501K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area would have about 592, against 785 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 291 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area at 242,966 people in 2025, up 12.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 95,451 households. The median household income in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area is $83,304 a year, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.2% 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area scores 36 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #305 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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.