Food and drink · County · Tennessee
Sit-down restaurants in Clay County, TN
How Clay County, TN compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 20
- 2 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9.6M
- On food away from home · $2,762 a household
- Spending per listing
- $481K
- 27% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 57.4
- 6% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 7,821
- +3.1% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Clay 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 Clay County. 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
Households in Clay County spend about $9.6M a year on food away from home, or $2,762 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. Spread across 20 sit-down restaurants, that is $481K per restaurant, 27% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
Clay County has 20 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (10%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 57.4, 6% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Clay County was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 581 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Clay County grew 3.1% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Clay 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.
| Measure | Clay County | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 57.4 | 59.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $481K | $618K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 581 | 569 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.3% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,762 | $3,670 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $39,972 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6 → 6
- Employees, 2023
- 49
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 202 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Clay 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 Clay County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,821+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 3,486
- Median age
- 46.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 237 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 32
- Median household income
- $39,972
- Average household income
- $55,360
- Median home value
- $136,400
- Jobs located here
- 1,331
- Daytime population
- 6,026Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Clay 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 Clay County. 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Clay County marked.
Top counties in Tennessee
| 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 |
| Clay County, TN | Not scored | 20 | 57.4 | $481K | +3.1% |
Other business types in Clay County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Clay County, TN?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 20 sit-down restaurants in Clay County. 2 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts also show 4 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Clay County, TN spend on food away from home?
About $9.6M a year, or $2,762 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $481K 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 3,486 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Clay County, TN compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Clay County has 57.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $481K, 27% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Clay County would have about 15, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 581 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Clay County, TN growing?
Population estimates put Clay County at 7,821 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,486 households. Median household income in Clay County is $39,972, 50% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clay 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 Clay County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay 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 Clay 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.