Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Texas

Sit-down restaurants in Shelby County, TX

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,981 of 2,405 scored counties
#123 of 162 scored counties in Texas

Listings
56
13 chain locations (23%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$29.1M
On food away from home · $3,112 a household
Spending per listing
$520K
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
59.8
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
24,286
+1.0% since 2020

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

The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Shelby County is 32 (lower middle), #1,981 of 2,405 scored counties and #123 of 162 scored counties in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on food away from home in Shelby County comes to about $29.1M a year: $3,112 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. Spread across 56 sit-down restaurants, that is $520K per restaurant, 22% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 56 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Shelby County as of September 2026. Of those, 13 are chain locations, or 23%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 59.8 for every 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Shelby County in 2023. That is one for every 669 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates show Shelby County grew 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Shelby County compares

The same measures for Texas 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 Shelby County, TX compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households59.869.061.3
Spending per listing$520K$575K$664K
Households per official establishment669528500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.9%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,112$3,970$4,070
Median household income$49,776$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score3246

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12 → 14
Employees, 2023
80
Annual payroll, 2023
$1M
One-person businesses, 2023
6Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5613 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
44The 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
24,286+1.0% since 2020
Households
9,366
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
796 sq. mi.
People per square mile
30
Median household income
$49,776+17.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$70,187
Median home value
$101,500
Jobs located here
8,915
Daytime population
24,049Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

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

Top counties in Texas

Counties in Texas ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Guadalupe County, TX8826340.2$1M+15.8%#44 of 2,405
2Wilson County, TX867943.4$975K+12.2%#58 of 2,405
3San Jacinto County, TX832623.9$1.4M+7.1%#82 of 2,405
4Johnson County, TX8330045.8$878K+20.5%#89 of 2,405
5Parker County, TX8227448.5$938K+23.5%#98 of 2,405
6Clay County, TX811637.3$1M+5.0%#116 of 2,405
7Randall County, TX8122740.0$993K+7.9%#118 of 2,405
8Wise County, TX8012850.9$828K+21.5%#132 of 2,405
9Kaufman County, TX7926652.2$788K+42.2%#154 of 2,405
10Hardin County, TX789241.4$926K+4.2%#175 of 2,405
123Shelby County, TX325659.8$520K+1.0%#1,981 of 2,405

Other business types in Shelby County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Shelby County, TX?

As of September 2026, map listings count 56 sit-down restaurants in Shelby County. 13 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Shelby County, TX spend on food away from home?

About $29.1M a year, or $3,112 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 56 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $520K 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 9,366 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shelby County has 59.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $520K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Shelby County would have about 44, against 56 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 669 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Shelby County, TX growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 24,286 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 9,366 households. Median household income in Shelby County is $49,776, 38% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 17.1%, 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. Shelby County scores 32 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,981 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby 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 Shelby 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.