Market rankings · Tennessee

Sit-down restaurants in Tennessee

Markets across Tennessee ranked by the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 16,762; 5,662 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments: 4,962; +4.3% since 2019
Household spending a year: $10.4B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 59.3; 3% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $618K; 7% below the U.S.
Rank among states: #27 of 51; Market score 49 · Lower middle

A site report maps the sit-down restaurants on map listings around any address in Tennessee by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 16,762 sit-down restaurants in Tennessee. Of those, 5,662 are chain locations, or 34%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 59.3, 3% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $3,670 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Tennessee spend about $10.4B a year on food away from home. Spread across 16,762 sit-down restaurants, that is $618K per restaurant, 7% 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 4,962 businesses with payroll in Tennessee classed as full-service restaurants, up 4.3% from 2019. That is one for every 569 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 1.5% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 135 SBA-backed loans worth $83.6M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Tennessee.

Among the 50 states and DC, Tennessee ranks #27 for sit-down restaurants, with a Groundwork market score of 49 (lower middle). Of the 10 scored metro areas in or partly in Tennessee, the Knoxville metro area scores highest (68). Of the 17 scored small-town markets in or partly in Tennessee, the Lewisburg area scores highest (85).

Every market in Tennessee for sit-down restaurants

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Tennessee, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Tennessee, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Knoxville, TN	68	1,872	49.5	$752K	+6.9%	#60 of 387
2Morristown, TN	65	212	44.2	$754K	+7.9%	#82 of 387
3Cleveland, TN	63	232	46.4	$742K	+6.1%	#95 of 387
4Clarksville, TN-KY	52	640	51.3	$687K	+8.5%	#173 of 387
5Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA	46	607	46.4	$712K	+2.3%	#220 of 387
6Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN	46	5,743	69.3	$595K	+8.7%	#225 of 387
7Chattanooga, TN-GA	44	1,374	59.4	$630K	+5.3%	#238 of 387
8Johnson City, TN	39	459	51.6	$640K	+4.3%	#281 of 387
9Jackson, TN	37	413	57.0	$582K	+2.2%	#292 of 387
10Memphis, TN-MS-AR	32	3,362	64.3	$565K	−0.3%	#331 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Tennessee, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Lewisburg, TN	85	61	44.8	$812K	+10.5%	#8 of 538
2Athens, TN	80	89	33.6	$997K	+8.2%	#18 of 538
3Fayetteville, TN	77	58	39.1	$888K	+4.3%	#31 of 538
4Winchester, TN	74	74	42.4	$804K	+6.4%	#51 of 538
5Crossville, TN	73	105	37.2	$864K	+8.0%	#57 of 538
6Lawrenceburg, TN	70	69	40.6	$782K	+6.2%	#75 of 538
7Shelbyville, TN	66	92	47.2	$740K	+9.7%	#105 of 538
8Greeneville, TN	64	112	39.4	$804K	+5.0%	#119 of 538
9McMinnville, TN	59	75	46.3	$677K	+6.5%	#177 of 538
10Cookeville, TN	52	299	50.9	$633K	+7.6%	#250 of 538
11Newport, TN	49	77	49.6	$585K	+5.1%	#278 of 538
12Tullahoma-Manchester, TN	42	148	57.3	$571K	+7.3%	#352 of 538
13Martin, TN	41	65	48.6	$631K	+1.1%	#363 of 538
14Paris, TN	37	71	52.8	$577K	+2.3%	#405 of 538
15Dyersburg, TN	36	89	60.3	$540K	−1.1%	#417 of 538
16Union City, TN	31	66	52.7	$586K	−2.3%	#460 of 538
17Sevierville, TN	24	534	132.4	$258K	+2.5%	#505 of 538

Counties

Counties in Tennessee, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Fayette County, TN	90	58	33.7	$1.2M	+7.7%	#23 of 2,405
2Roane County, TN	85	70	30.7	$1.2M	+7.0%	#61 of 2,405
3Loudon County, TN	84	100	41.6	$956K	+15.6%	#79 of 2,405
4Blount County, TN	79	215	38.7	$984K	+6.0%	#149 of 2,405
5Union County, TN	78	24	30.3	$1.1M	+8.1%	#161 of 2,405
6Cheatham County, TN	78	65	39.9	$995K	+4.1%	#169 of 2,405
7Wilson County, TN	78	319	53.9	$801K	+17.8%	#181 of 2,405
8Marshall County, TN	76	61	44.8	$812K	+10.5%	#229 of 2,405
9Hickman County, TN	75	28	29.7	$1.2M	+5.0%	#234 of 2,405
10Jefferson County, TN	75	78	35.8	$969K	+9.3%	#246 of 2,405
11Grainger County, TN	74	25	25.9	$1.2M	+9.2%	#261 of 2,405
12Macon County, TN	74	29	30.8	$1.1M	+9.5%	#269 of 2,405
13Smith County, TN	74	30	37.8	$934K	+5.1%	#279 of 2,405
14Morgan County, TN	73	27	37.6	$890K	+5.3%	#305 of 2,405
15Sequatchie County, TN	72	22	35.5	$901K	+12.7%	#325 of 2,405
16Meigs County, TN	71	16	30.6	$1.1M	+10.8%	#337 of 2,405
17Sumner County, TN	71	421	53.6	$772K	+9.2%	#354 of 2,405
18Stewart County, TN	70	16	30.1	$1.1M	+5.3%	#364 of 2,405
19Chester County, TN	70	21	32.7	$983K	+3.5%	#371 of 2,405
20McMinn County, TN	70	73	34.4	$977K	+7.6%	#372 of 2,405
21Fentress County, TN	70	24	30.6	$914K	+9.7%	#379 of 2,405
22Hawkins County, TN	69	76	32.2	$983K	+5.0%	#402 of 2,405
23Tipton County, TN	69	92	40.6	$903K	+2.0%	#407 of 2,405
24Claiborne County, TN	68	43	31.3	$970K	+3.6%	#426 of 2,405
25Maury County, TN	67	217	51.3	$731K	+16.0%	#474 of 2,405

Show all 95 counties

Counties in Tennessee, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Bledsoe County, TN	66	15	30.9	$1M	+6.5%	#482 of 2,405
27Cannon County, TN	66	24	41.6	$789K	+5.0%	#501 of 2,405
28Anderson County, TN	66	156	47.6	$752K	+6.1%	#504 of 2,405
29Lincoln County, TN	65	58	39.1	$888K	+4.3%	#528 of 2,405
30White County, TN	65	41	36.5	$837K	+7.9%	#533 of 2,405
31Franklin County, TN	65	74	42.4	$804K	+6.4%	#537 of 2,405
32Cumberland County, TN	64	105	37.2	$864K	+8.0%	#567 of 2,405
33Williamson County, TN	64	605	65.6	$811K	+9.0%	#574 of 2,405
34Robertson County, TN	64	151	53.4	$723K	+9.9%	#587 of 2,405
35Campbell County, TN	63	59	34.3	$883K	+2.5%	#618 of 2,405
36Lawrence County, TN	63	69	40.6	$782K	+6.2%	#629 of 2,405
37Jackson County, TN	62	19	39.6	$771K	+7.1%	#680 of 2,405
38Lewis County, TN	62	23	42.7	$741K	+7.0%	#685 of 2,405
39Wayne County, TN	61	20	33.4	$916K	+1.2%	#698 of 2,405
40Overton County, TN	60	37	40.8	$770K	+5.3%	#751 of 2,405
41Polk County, TN	60	33	44.5	$761K	+5.9%	#753 of 2,405
42Bradley County, TN	60	199	46.7	$738K	+6.1%	#756 of 2,405
43Rutherford County, TN	60	790	61.0	$656K	+12.6%	#760 of 2,405
44Lauderdale County, TN	59	24	25.7	$1.2M	−2.0%	#763 of 2,405
45Bedford County, TN	59	92	47.2	$740K	+9.7%	#786 of 2,405
46Crockett County, TN	57	18	32.7	$996K	+0.7%	#842 of 2,405
47Montgomery County, TN	57	468	53.3	$690K	+13.0%	#873 of 2,405
48Greene County, TN	56	112	39.4	$804K	+5.0%	#901 of 2,405
49Carter County, TN	56	91	37.3	$803K	+1.7%	#902 of 2,405
50Scott County, TN	56	33	37.7	$739K	+3.6%	#911 of 2,405
51Unicoi County, TN	54	28	35.9	$879K	−0.1%	#980 of 2,405
52Rhea County, TN	54	60	44.5	$709K	+4.6%	#1,004 of 2,405
53Sullivan County, TN	53	329	47.7	$706K	+3.5%	#1,048 of 2,405
54Henderson County, TN	52	49	44.9	$703K	+2.5%	#1,099 of 2,405
55Warren County, TN	52	75	46.3	$677K	+6.5%	#1,103 of 2,405
56Giles County, TN	52	69	57.2	$612K	+3.6%	#1,108 of 2,405
57DeKalb County, TN	51	41	47.4	$658K	+8.4%	#1,142 of 2,405
58Knox County, TN	51	1,196	59.5	$643K	+6.5%	#1,143 of 2,405
59Johnson County, TN	50	34	46.6	$665K	+4.1%	#1,180 of 2,405
60Dickson County, TN	49	120	55.2	$680K	+7.7%	#1,234 of 2,405
61Monroe County, TN	49	94	47.7	$659K	+7.2%	#1,236 of 2,405
62Gibson County, TN	49	104	51.1	$652K	+2.7%	#1,237 of 2,405
63Trousdale County, TN	49	21	56.8	$612K	+8.4%	#1,244 of 2,405
64McNairy County, TN	48	40	40.2	$772K	+1.4%	#1,263 of 2,405
65Humphreys County, TN	48	37	51.1	$653K	+3.4%	#1,280 of 2,405
66Carroll County, TN	48	56	48.5	$639K	+2.7%	#1,285 of 2,405
67Hamblen County, TN	48	134	51.3	$630K	+6.7%	#1,288 of 2,405
68Marion County, TN	44	53	44.7	$745K	+3.2%	#1,449 of 2,405
69Benton County, TN	42	33	46.3	$647K	+2.1%	#1,545 of 2,405
70Hardeman County, TN	42	41	45.0	$647K	−0.6%	#1,546 of 2,405
71Cocke County, TN	42	77	49.6	$585K	+5.1%	#1,563 of 2,405
72Hamilton County, TN	42	1,108	71.9	$541K	+6.2%	#1,567 of 2,405
73Grundy County, TN	39	36	69.8	$413K	+4.3%	#1,708 of 2,405
74Washington County, TN	37	340	59.9	$576K	+6.0%	#1,776 of 2,405
75Putnam County, TN	37	202	60.1	$554K	+8.1%	#1,779 of 2,405
76Davidson County, TN	36	2,923	90.0	$442K	+4.2%	#1,819 of 2,405
77Weakley County, TN	35	65	48.6	$631K	+1.1%	#1,830 of 2,405
78Coffee County, TN	34	139	60.2	$538K	+7.4%	#1,898 of 2,405
79Henry County, TN	31	71	52.8	$577K	+2.3%	#2,002 of 2,405
80Haywood County, TN	30	39	54.4	$559K	−4.4%	#2,051 of 2,405
81Dyer County, TN	30	89	60.3	$540K	−1.1%	#2,055 of 2,405
82Shelby County, TN	30	2,525	69.6	$518K	−2.1%	#2,057 of 2,405
83Madison County, TN	30	270	67.2	$496K	+2.0%	#2,061 of 2,405
84Decatur County, TN	28	31	67.9	$436K	+3.4%	#2,134 of 2,405
85Obion County, TN	27	66	52.7	$586K	−2.3%	#2,149 of 2,405
86Hardin County, TN	20	76	69.1	$441K	+3.8%	#2,311 of 2,405
87Sevier County, TN	20	534	132.4	$258K	+2.5%	#2,314 of 2,405
Perry County, TN	Not scored	9	24.9	$1.3M	+8.9%
Houston County, TN	Not scored	17	50.7	$647K	+2.2%
Clay County, TN	Not scored	20	57.4	$481K	+3.1%
Hancock County, TN	Not scored	5	17.7	$1.5M	+6.7%
Moore County, TN	Not scored	9	32.9	$1.1M	+6.9%
Lake County, TN	Not scored	10	48.4	$538K	−10.6%
Van Buren County, TN	Not scored	6	23.4	$1.3M	+11.3%
Pickett County, TN	Not scored	15	69.2	$419K	+4.3%

Markets with fewer than 5 sit-down restaurants on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Tennessee?

There are 16,762 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Tennessee as of September 2026. 5,662 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 4,962 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.3% from 2019. Official counts list 1,203 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Tennessee spend on food away from home?

About $10.4B a year, or $3,670 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16,762 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $618K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,824,277 households in Tennessee and national spending patterns by income.

How does Tennessee compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Tennessee has 59.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $618K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Tennessee would have about 15,618, against 16,762 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 569 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

Which market in Tennessee has the highest market score for sit-down restaurants?

Among 10 scored metro areas in or partly in Tennessee, the Knoxville metro area scores highest, at 68 (upper middle). Among 17 scored small-town markets in or partly in Tennessee, the Lewisburg area scores highest, at 85 (high). Among 87 scored counties in Tennessee, Fayette County scores highest, at 90 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Tennessee scores 49 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #27 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Tennessee. 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.

Restaurants and cafes29,063 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops4,273 listings
Pizza2,034 listings
Coffee shops and cafes2,614 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops2,305 listings

Screening a site or an acquisition in Tennessee?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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