Food and drink · Small-town market · Texas
Sit-down restaurants in the Zapata, TX area
The sit-down restaurants in the Zapata, TX area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #499 of 538 scored small-town markets
#33 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas
- Listings
- 41
- 8 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12.8M
- On food away from home · $2,803 a household
- Spending per listing
- $312K
- 53% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 89.8
- 46% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 13,753
- −0.9% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Zapata 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 Zapata area. 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
The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Zapata area is 25 (lower middle), #499 of 538 scored small-town markets and #33 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Zapata area spend about $12.8M a year on food away from home, or $2,803 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. Spread across 41 sit-down restaurants, that is $312K per restaurant, 53% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Zapata area has 41 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 20% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 89.8 for every 10,000 households, 46% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the Zapata area classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 652 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Zapata area. Population estimates put the population change in the Zapata area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Zapata area 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.
| Measure | Zapata area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 89.8 | 69.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $312K | $575K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 652 | 528 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.9% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,803 | $3,970 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $39,239 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 65
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $727K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 418 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $50K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Zapata 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 Zapata area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 13,753−0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 4,565
- Median age
- 33.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 998 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 14
- Median household income
- $39,239+15.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $55,044
- Median home value
- $97,100
- Jobs located here
- 2,023
- Daytime population
- 10,968Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Zapata area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Zapata area. 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Texas for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Zapata area marked.
Top small-town markets in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bonham, TX | 80 | 64 | 50.1 | $738K | +9.2% | #19 of 538 |
| 2Granbury, TX | 74 | 134 | 52.5 | $776K | +13.6% | #52 of 538 |
| 3Andrews, TX | 69 | 38 | 55.5 | $690K | +1.6% | #83 of 538 |
| 4Corsicana, TX | 64 | 108 | 56.7 | $607K | +8.2% | #128 of 538 |
| 5Jacksonville, TX | 63 | 94 | 51.7 | $657K | +5.4% | #138 of 538 |
| 6Paris, TX | 56 | 119 | 47.6 | $702K | +2.6% | #209 of 538 |
| 7Lufkin, TX | 53 | 175 | 54.2 | $615K | +1.9% | #242 of 538 |
| 8Gainesville, TX | 53 | 105 | 63.5 | $605K | +6.5% | #243 of 538 |
| 9Huntsville, TX | 51 | 130 | 50.0 | $618K | +9.5% | #260 of 538 |
| 10Kerrville, TX | 49 | 126 | 55.7 | $657K | +2.5% | #274 of 538 |
| 33Zapata, TX | 25 | 41 | 89.8 | $312K | −0.9% | #499 of 538 |
Other business types in the Zapata area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes29
- Sit-down restaurants25
- Fast food and sandwich shops27
- Pizza
- Coffee shops and cafes
- Bakeries and dessert shops8
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 the Zapata, TX area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 41 sit-down restaurants in the Zapata area. 8 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Zapata, TX area spend on food away from home?
About $12.8M a year, or $2,803 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 41 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $312K 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 4,565 households in the Zapata area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Zapata, TX area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Zapata area has 89.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 46% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $312K, 53% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Zapata area would have about 19, against 41 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 652 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is the Zapata, TX area growing?
Population estimates put the Zapata area at 13,753 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,565 households. Median household income in the Zapata area is $39,239, 51% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.6%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Zapata area scores 25 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #499 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Zapata 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 Zapata area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Zapata 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 Zapata 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.