Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Tennessee

Sit-down restaurants in Fentress County, TN

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Fentress County, TN, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #379 of 2,405 scored counties
#21 of 87 scored counties in Tennessee

Listings
24
12 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$21.9M
On food away from home · $2,802 a household
Spending per listing
$914K
38% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
30.6
50% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,322
+9.7% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Fentress 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 Fentress County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

Households in Fentress County spend about $21.9M a year on food away from home, or $2,802 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. Spread across 24 sit-down restaurants, that is $914K per restaurant, 38% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Fentress County has 24 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 30.6, 50% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Fentress County in 2023. That is one for every 1,305 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Fentress County grew 9.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Fentress County scores 70 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #379 of 2,405 scored counties and #21 of 87 scored counties in Tennessee. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Fentress 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 Fentress County, TN compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureFentress CountyTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households30.659.361.3
Spending per listing$914K$618K$664K
Households per official establishment1,305569500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.7%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,802$3,670$4,070
Median household income$51,149$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score7049

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 6
Employees, 2023
64
Annual payroll, 2023
$687K
One-person businesses, 2023
8Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
33The 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 Fentress 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 Fentress County

Population, 2025 estimate
20,322+9.7% since 2020
Households
7,831
Median age
45.8
Homes lived in by their owners
83%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
499 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$51,149+40.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$57,981
Median home value
$168,200
Jobs located here
3,781
Daytime population
16,556Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Fentress 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 Fentress County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Fentress 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
21Fentress County, TN702430.6$914K+9.7%#379 of 2,405

Other business types in Fentress County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 24 sit-down restaurants in Fentress County. 12 of them (50%) 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. Another 8 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $21.9M a year, or $2,802 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $914K 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 7,831 households in Fentress County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Fentress County has 30.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $914K, 38% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Fentress County would have about 33, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,305 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Fentress County, TN growing?

Population estimates put Fentress County at 20,322 people in 2025, up 9.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,831 households. Median household income in Fentress County is $51,149, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 40.1%, 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. Fentress County scores 70 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #379 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Fentress 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 Fentress County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Fentress 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 Fentress 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.