Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Tennessee

Sit-down restaurants in Blount County, TN

The sit-down restaurants in Blount County, TN, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #149 of 2,405 scored counties
#4 of 87 scored counties in Tennessee

Listings
215
95 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
71
+2.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$211.5M
On food away from home · $3,809 a household
Spending per listing
$984K
48% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
38.7
37% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
143,820
+6.0% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Blount County

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 Blount County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Blount County scores 79 (high) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #149 of 2,405 scored counties and #4 of 87 scored counties in Tennessee. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

Households in Blount County spend about $211.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,809 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. Spread across 215 sit-down restaurants, that is $984K per restaurant, 48% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Blount County has 215 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 95 of them (44%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 38.7 per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 71 businesses with payroll in Blount County classed as full-service restaurants, up 2.9% from 2019. That is one for every 782 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $6.1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Blount County. Population estimates show Blount County grew 6.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Blount County compares

The same measures for Tennessee 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Blount County, TN compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureBlount CountyTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households38.759.361.3
Spending per listing$984K$618K$664K
Households per official establishment782569500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.9%+4.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.0%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,809$3,670$4,070
Median household income$77,365$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score7949

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
69 → 71+2.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,102
Annual payroll, 2023
$52.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
8Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
21595 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
319The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
8
Amount
$6.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Blount County, 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 Blount County

Population, 2025 estimate
143,820+6.0% since 2020
Households
55,522
Median age
44.2
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
559 sq. mi.
People per square mile
249
Median household income
$77,365+36.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,400
Median home value
$320,500
Jobs located here
56,831
Daytime population
134,383Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Blount County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Blount County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Sit-down restaurants across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Blount County marked.

Top counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fayette County, TN905833.7$1.2M+7.7%#23 of 2,405
2Roane County, TN857030.7$1.2M+7.0%#61 of 2,405
3Loudon County, TN8410041.6$956K+15.6%#79 of 2,405
4Blount County, TN7921538.7$984K+6.0%#149 of 2,405
5Union County, TN782430.3$1.1M+8.1%#161 of 2,405
6Cheatham County, TN786539.9$995K+4.1%#169 of 2,405
7Wilson County, TN7831953.9$801K+17.8%#181 of 2,405
8Marshall County, TN766144.8$812K+10.5%#229 of 2,405
9Hickman County, TN752829.7$1.2M+5.0%#234 of 2,405
10Jefferson County, TN757835.8$969K+9.3%#246 of 2,405

Other business types in Blount County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Blount County, TN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 215 sit-down restaurants in Blount County. 95 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 71 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 2.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Blount County, TN spend on food away from home?

About $211.5M a year, or $3,809 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 215 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $984K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 55,522 households in Blount County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Blount County, TN compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Blount County has 38.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $984K, 48% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Blount County would have about 319, against 215 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 782 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Blount County, TN growing?

Population estimates put Blount County at 143,820 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 55,522 households. Median household income in Blount County is $77,365, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 36.5%, 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. Blount County scores 79 for sit-down restaurants (high), #149 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Blount County. 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 Blount County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Blount County?

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 Blount County. 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.