Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Tennessee

Sit-down restaurants in the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #238 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
1,374
497 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
432
+3.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$865.8M
On food away from home · $3,743 a household
Spending per listing
$630K
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
59.4
3% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
594,530
+5.3% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga metro area. 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

At $3,743 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Chattanooga metro area spend about $865.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $630K per restaurant, 5% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

The Chattanooga metro area has 1,374 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 59.4 for every 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 432 businesses with payroll in the Chattanooga metro area classed as full-service restaurants, up 3.1% from 2019. That is one for every 535 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 77 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 11 SBA-backed loans worth $10.8M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Chattanooga metro area.

Population estimates show the Chattanooga metro area grew 5.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Chattanooga metro area is 44 (lower middle), #238 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee.

How the Chattanooga metro area 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 Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureChattanooga metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households59.459.361.3
Spending per listing$630K$618K$664K
Households per official establishment535569500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.1%+4.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.3%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,743$3,670$4,070
Median household income$72,161$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score4449

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
432+3.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
11,468
Annual payroll, 2023
$285.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
77Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,374497 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,305The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
11
Amount
$10.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
594,530+5.3% since 2020
Households
231,335
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,089 sq. mi.
People per square mile
276
Median household income
$72,161+35.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,295
Median home value
$272,400
Jobs located here
258,793
Daytime population
593,840Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Chattanooga 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.

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Sit-down restaurants across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Chattanooga metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Knoxville, TN681,87249.5$752K+6.9%#60 of 387
2Morristown, TN6521244.2$754K+7.9%#82 of 387
3Cleveland, TN6323246.4$742K+6.1%#95 of 387
4Clarksville, TN-KY5264051.3$687K+8.5%#173 of 387
5Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA4660746.4$712K+2.3%#220 of 387
6Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN465,74369.3$595K+8.7%#225 of 387
7Chattanooga, TN-GA441,37459.4$630K+5.3%#238 of 387
8Johnson City, TN3945951.6$640K+4.3%#281 of 387
9Jackson, TN3741357.0$582K+2.2%#292 of 387
10Memphis, TN-MS-AR323,36264.3$565K−0.3%#331 of 387

Other business types in the Chattanooga metro area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,374 sit-down restaurants in the Chattanooga metro area. 497 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 432 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.1% from 2019. Another 77 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $865.8M a year, or $3,743 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,374 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $630K 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 231,335 households in the Chattanooga metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Chattanooga metro area has 59.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $630K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Chattanooga metro area would have about 1,305, against 1,374 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 535 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Chattanooga, TN-GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Chattanooga metro area at 594,530 people in 2025, up 5.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 231,335 households. Median household income in the Chattanooga metro area is $72,161, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.8%, 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 Chattanooga metro area scores 44 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #238 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 Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga metro area

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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.