Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Tennessee

Sit-down restaurants in the Jackson, TN metro area

The sit-down restaurants in the Jackson, TN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #292 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
413
144 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
109
−2.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$240.4M
On food away from home · $3,317 a household
Spending per listing
$582K
12% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
57.0
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
184,569
+2.2% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Jackson 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 Jackson 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

For sit-down restaurants, the Jackson metro area has a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle): #292 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 413 sit-down restaurants in the Jackson metro area. 144 of them (35%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 57.0, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in the Jackson metro area comes to about $240.4M a year: $3,317 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That works out to $582K per restaurant, 12% 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.

Official counts show 109 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Jackson metro area in 2023, down 2.7% from 2019. That is one for every 665 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Jackson metro area. Population estimates show the Jackson metro area grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Jackson 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 Jackson, TN metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureJackson metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households57.059.361.3
Spending per listing$582K$618K$664K
Households per official establishment665569500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.7%+4.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,317$3,670$4,070
Median household income$61,177$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score3749

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
109−2.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,487
Annual payroll, 2023
$60M
One-person businesses, 2023
21Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
413144 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
362The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
184,569+2.2% since 2020
Households
72,451
Median age
39.4
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,711 sq. mi.
People per square mile
106
Median household income
$61,177+30.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,447
Median home value
$185,300
Jobs located here
84,298
Daytime population
188,381Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Jackson 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.

Or open the report at the center of the Jackson metro area. 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 metro areas in Tennessee for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Jackson 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 Jackson metro area

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

Questions

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

The Jackson metro area has 413 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 144 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 109 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 2.7% from 2019. Official counts list 21 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $240.4M a year, or $3,317 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 413 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $582K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 72,451 households in the Jackson metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Jackson metro area has 57.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $582K, 12% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Jackson metro area would have about 362, against 413 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 665 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Jackson, TN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Jackson metro area at 184,569 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,451 households. The median household income in the Jackson metro area is $61,177 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 30.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Jackson metro area scores 37 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #292 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 Jackson 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 Jackson metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Jackson metro area?

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 the Jackson metro area. 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.