Market rankings · Virginia

Sit-down restaurants in Virginia

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Virginia, ranked by the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 19,235; 6,241 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments: 7,154; +2.1% since 2019
Household spending a year: $14.7B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 57.1; 7% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $765K; 15% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #8 of 51; Market score 66 · Upper middle

A site report maps the sit-down restaurants on map listings around any address in Virginia by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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

Virginia has 19,235 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 6,241 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 57.1, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Virginia comes to about $14.7B a year: $4,372 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. That is about $765K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 15% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Official counts show 7,154 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Virginia in 2023, up 2.1% from 2019. That is one for every 470 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 1.5% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 246 SBA-backed loans worth $139.2M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Virginia.

Among the 50 states and DC, Virginia ranks #8 for sit-down restaurants, with a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle). Of the 11 scored metro areas in or partly in Virginia, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores highest (66). Of the 4 scored small-town markets in or partly in Virginia, the Lake of the Woods area scores highest (78).

Every market in Virginia for sit-down restaurants

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Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Virginia, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Virginia, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	66	15,316	64.5	$796K	+3.3%	#74 of 387
1Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA	59	241	46.1	$783K	+3.2%	#117 of 387
2Richmond, VA	58	3,034	56.9	$733K	+5.5%	#126 of 387
3Winchester, VA-WV	53	322	58.0	$699K	+6.5%	#164 of 387
4Lynchburg, VA	50	507	49.0	$723K	+2.9%	#189 of 387
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA	46	607	46.4	$712K	+2.3%	#220 of 387
5Charlottesville, VA	45	596	65.9	$662K	+3.1%	#230 of 387
6Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA	40	354	50.4	$712K	−0.1%	#273 of 387
7Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	40	4,149	58.7	$684K	+0.9%	#274 of 387
8Roanoke, VA	36	691	52.5	$691K	+0.4%	#296 of 387
9Harrisonburg, VA	30	324	64.7	$575K	+3.5%	#345 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Virginia, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Lake of the Woods, VA	78	62	41.7	$1M	+10.1%	#26 of 538
2Martinsville, VA	48	99	37.0	$814K	−1.9%	#280 of 538
Bluefield, WV-VA	36	181	44.7	$691K	−3.8%	#414 of 538
3Danville, VA	35	201	45.6	$668K	−1.7%	#421 of 538

Counties

Counties in Virginia, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Fluvanna County, VA	94	17	16.5	$2.6M	+6.2%	#6 of 2,405
2King George County, VA	94	33	32.6	$1.5M	+10.5%	#7 of 2,405
3Caroline County, VA	91	30	25.0	$1.6M	+11.3%	#15 of 2,405
4Stafford County, VA	91	212	40.5	$1.3M	+8.3%	#16 of 2,405
5Louisa County, VA	90	47	30.2	$1.3M	+13.6%	#22 of 2,405
6Goochland County, VA	89	28	27.1	$1.9M	+17.4%	#25 of 2,405
7Frederick County, VA	88	134	37.9	$1.2M	+8.8%	#42 of 2,405
8Dinwiddie County, VA	87	19	17.8	$2.1M	+3.6%	#45 of 2,405
9Madison County, VA	87	12	21.9	$1.8M	+2.7%	#46 of 2,405
10Powhatan County, VA	87	31	27.4	$1.7M	+7.0%	#47 of 2,405
11Rockingham County, VA	86	104	31.8	$1.2M	+6.6%	#54 of 2,405
12Spotsylvania County, VA	84	227	43.3	$1.1M	+10.5%	#76 of 2,405
13Suffolk city, VA	83	149	39.3	$1.1M	+10.4%	#86 of 2,405
14Isle of Wight County, VA	81	43	27.3	$1.6M	+6.7%	#100 of 2,405
15Amelia County, VA	81	13	24.0	$1.5M	+2.7%	#102 of 2,405
16Augusta County, VA	81	80	25.7	$1.5M	+1.8%	#103 of 2,405
17New Kent County, VA	80	25	27.0	$1.8M	+21.2%	#121 of 2,405
18Albemarle County, VA	80	177	38.6	$1.2M	+5.1%	#125 of 2,405
19Appomattox County, VA	79	18	27.1	$1.2M	+6.3%	#141 of 2,405
20Fauquier County, VA	79	111	41.5	$1.2M	+4.8%	#142 of 2,405
21Prince George County, VA	79	45	34.8	$1.2M	+2.0%	#143 of 2,405
22Clarke County, VA	79	24	40.7	$1.2M	+5.4%	#144 of 2,405
23Bedford County, VA	78	122	36.8	$1.1M	+4.4%	#164 of 2,405
24Chesterfield County, VA	77	627	44.7	$1M	+8.7%	#195 of 2,405
25Buckingham County, VA	76	6	9.6	$3.5M	+1.9%	#207 of 2,405

Show all 133 counties

Counties in Virginia, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Culpeper County, VA	76	88	46.5	$940K	+9.3%	#227 of 2,405
27Greene County, VA	75	40	49.8	$852K	+6.6%	#253 of 2,405
28Prince William County, VA	74	846	54.0	$972K	+4.2%	#274 of 2,405
29Amherst County, VA	73	38	29.9	$1.2M	+2.1%	#293 of 2,405
30Nelson County, VA	72	24	37.7	$1M	+1.2%	#315 of 2,405
31Orange County, VA	72	62	41.7	$1M	+10.1%	#317 of 2,405
32King William County, VA	72	30	40.8	$979K	+9.5%	#319 of 2,405
33Hanover County, VA	72	208	48.7	$969K	+5.6%	#320 of 2,405
34Southampton County, VA	71	15	21.8	$1.6M	+0.9%	#330 of 2,405
35Poquoson city, VA	71	19	40.2	$1.2M	+6.6%	#332 of 2,405
36Gloucester County, VA	71	56	36.7	$1.1M	+3.6%	#336 of 2,405
37Roanoke County, VA	71	162	40.8	$979K	+0.2%	#344 of 2,405
38Rockbridge County, VA	70	27	28.3	$1.3M	0.0%	#360 of 2,405
39Botetourt County, VA	69	50	37.8	$1M	+1.5%	#398 of 2,405
40Loudoun County, VA	69	919	64.3	$949K	+6.4%	#404 of 2,405
41James City County, VA	67	192	60.0	$778K	+6.2%	#472 of 2,405
42Lunenburg County, VA	66	14	29.3	$1.1M	+0.9%	#477 of 2,405
43Campbell County, VA	66	76	34.2	$1M	+0.1%	#480 of 2,405
44Grayson County, VA	65	11	17.4	$1.7M	−0.3%	#510 of 2,405
45York County, VA	65	120	44.5	$1.1M	+1.6%	#517 of 2,405
46Floyd County, VA	64	18	27.2	$1.2M	+2.1%	#550 of 2,405
47Pittsylvania County, VA	63	64	25.6	$1.2M	−1.5%	#598 of 2,405
48Patrick County, VA	63	23	29.6	$1.1M	−0.9%	#602 of 2,405
49Warren County, VA	63	70	45.6	$889K	+4.8%	#616 of 2,405
50Franklin County, VA	63	98	42.6	$848K	+1.9%	#621 of 2,405
51Manassas Park city, VA	62	28	53.9	$831K	−3.5%	#669 of 2,405
52Brunswick County, VA	61	22	34.0	$925K	−0.6%	#697 of 2,405
53Fairfax County, VA	61	2,651	64.0	$880K	+1.7%	#703 of 2,405
54Northumberland County, VA	61	28	49.6	$725K	+6.1%	#720 of 2,405
55Carroll County, VA	60	37	29.4	$1.1M	+0.5%	#727 of 2,405
56Charlotte County, VA	59	16	34.0	$946K	−1.2%	#769 of 2,405
57Alleghany County, VA	58	15	23.5	$1.3M	−4.2%	#795 of 2,405
58Russell County, VA	58	26	24.4	$1.3M	−1.7%	#796 of 2,405
59Chesapeake city, VA	58	493	52.7	$826K	+2.3%	#814 of 2,405
60Buchanan County, VA	57	18	23.9	$1.1M	−8.7%	#837 of 2,405
61Henry County, VA	56	58	27.6	$1.1M	−3.1%	#882 of 2,405
62Pulaski County, VA	56	62	42.9	$790K	−0.6%	#906 of 2,405
63Arlington County, VA	55	801	71.5	$757K	+2.1%	#954 of 2,405
64Greensville County, VA	54	7	21.9	$1.4M	−1.8%	#970 of 2,405
65Alexandria city, VA	54	476	62.6	$797K	+1.0%	#986 of 2,405
66Henrico County, VA	53	829	60.4	$706K	+2.3%	#1,049 of 2,405
67Shenandoah County, VA	52	83	46.2	$774K	+3.6%	#1,083 of 2,405
68Page County, VA	51	39	39.4	$820K	+0.3%	#1,124 of 2,405
69Portsmouth city, VA	51	165	41.0	$810K	−1.2%	#1,126 of 2,405
70Hampton city, VA	50	279	48.1	$743K	0.0%	#1,166 of 2,405
71Scott County, VA	49	32	35.1	$841K	−1.8%	#1,200 of 2,405
72Mecklenburg County, VA	47	61	45.0	$730K	+1.5%	#1,310 of 2,405
73Washington County, VA	46	88	39.8	$863K	0.0%	#1,342 of 2,405
74Giles County, VA	46	29	43.3	$787K	−1.3%	#1,349 of 2,405
75Dickenson County, VA	45	22	37.1	$767K	−6.0%	#1,404 of 2,405
76Lee County, VA	45	32	37.5	$757K	−2.1%	#1,406 of 2,405
77Halifax County, VA	45	57	41.9	$740K	−1.4%	#1,410 of 2,405
78Sussex County, VA	42	19	50.2	$681K	−0.4%	#1,534 of 2,405
79Smyth County, VA	41	44	34.8	$871K	−3.0%	#1,573 of 2,405
80Wise County, VA	39	46	33.1	$886K	−3.5%	#1,659 of 2,405
81Fairfax city, VA	39	144	157.3	$336K	+10.8%	#1,710 of 2,405
82Montgomery County, VA	37	208	56.3	$673K	−1.2%	#1,755 of 2,405
83Hopewell city, VA	37	47	50.8	$627K	+1.1%	#1,769 of 2,405
84Westmoreland County, VA	37	46	56.4	$613K	+6.5%	#1,771 of 2,405
85Manassas city, VA	37	144	101.4	$473K	+3.9%	#1,785 of 2,405
86Fredericksburg city, VA	36	184	157.0	$268K	+8.6%	#1,820 of 2,405
87Nottoway County, VA	34	26	46.3	$707K	+1.0%	#1,865 of 2,405
88Radford city, VA	34	37	66.8	$481K	+7.0%	#1,905 of 2,405
89Falls Church city, VA	33	167	266.2	$210K	+3.3%	#1,947 of 2,405
90Newport News city, VA	31	431	56.6	$623K	−1.5%	#1,994 of 2,405
91Virginia Beach city, VA	31	1,308	72.7	$589K	−1.3%	#2,001 of 2,405
92Tazewell County, VA	29	75	46.0	$660K	−4.4%	#2,072 of 2,405
93Waynesboro city, VA	29	74	75.2	$446K	+7.5%	#2,092 of 2,405
94Richmond city, VA	29	904	86.7	$419K	+4.6%	#2,094 of 2,405
95Wythe County, VA	28	57	45.5	$703K	−1.2%	#2,100 of 2,405
96Middlesex County, VA	28	38	79.6	$468K	+2.2%	#2,131 of 2,405
97Salem city, VA	27	83	80.9	$453K	+1.7%	#2,161 of 2,405
98Colonial Heights city, VA	27	90	119.5	$312K	+3.2%	#2,167 of 2,405
99Prince Edward County, VA	26	47	61.5	$543K	+2.3%	#2,179 of 2,405
100Williamsburg city, VA	26	83	165.3	$232K	+2.6%	#2,188 of 2,405
101Staunton city, VA	25	87	76.9	$442K	+3.8%	#2,207 of 2,405
102Accomack County, VA	24	86	59.5	$560K	+1.4%	#2,221 of 2,405
103Lancaster County, VA	23	47	82.4	$444K	+0.9%	#2,255 of 2,405
104Petersburg city, VA	22	109	72.0	$407K	+1.0%	#2,283 of 2,405
105Lynchburg city, VA	21	253	88.2	$376K	+3.0%	#2,298 of 2,405
106Norfolk city, VA	20	689	72.6	$492K	−2.9%	#2,306 of 2,405
107Essex County, VA	19	27	60.7	$542K	+0.5%	#2,319 of 2,405
108Winchester city, VA	18	165	143.6	$242K	+1.0%	#2,348 of 2,405
109Northampton County, VA	17	41	75.4	$476K	−2.8%	#2,353 of 2,405
110Charlottesville city, VA	17	338	170.6	$233K	−4.4%	#2,359 of 2,405
111Martinsville city, VA	16	41	71.8	$418K	+2.8%	#2,369 of 2,405
112Roanoke city, VA	15	293	67.2	$478K	−0.8%	#2,374 of 2,405
113Harrisonburg city, VA	12	220	126.7	$271K	−1.7%	#2,388 of 2,405
114Danville city, VA	7	137	71.9	$407K	−2.2%	#2,403 of 2,405
115Bristol city, VA	4	82	113.5	$273K	−5.2%	#2,405 of 2,405
Cumberland County, VA	Not scored	8	20.0	$1.7M	+6.9%
Richmond County, VA	Not scored	11	34.6	$1M	+4.2%
Mathews County, VA	Not scored	11	27.6	$1.4M	+0.1%
Franklin city, VA	Not scored	17	49.2	$658K	+4.1%
Lexington city, VA	Not scored	40	182.9	$205K	+6.2%
Rappahannock County, VA	Not scored	6	20.1	$2.2M	+1.6%
Galax city, VA	Not scored	27	97.7	$316K	−0.7%
King and Queen County, VA	Not scored	5	16.7	$2.1M	+2.4%
Charles City County, VA	Not scored	5	17.2	$2.2M	−1.8%
Buena Vista city, VA	Not scored	19	74.4	$393K	+0.9%
Surry County, VA	Not scored	7	24.7	$1.5M	+0.8%
Bland County, VA	Not scored	6	25.3	$1.3M	−1.7%
Covington city, VA	Not scored	21	81.5	$323K	−1.2%
Emporia city, VA	Not scored	23	106.6	$296K	−4.4%
Craig County, VA	Not scored	5	28.8	$1.3M	−1.6%
Bath County, VA	Not scored	16	87.8	$389K	−2.6%
Norton city, VA	Not scored	25	155.8	$177K	−5.5%
Highland County, VA	Not scored	8	79.8	$422K	+3.4%

Markets with fewer than 5 sit-down restaurants on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Virginia?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19,235 sit-down restaurants in Virginia. 6,241 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 7,154 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 2.1% from 2019. Another 1,498 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Virginia spend on food away from home?

About $14.7B a year, or $4,372 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19,235 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $765K 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 3,365,732 households in Virginia and national spending patterns by income.

How does Virginia compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Virginia has 57.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $765K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Virginia would have about 22,172, against 19,235 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 470 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

Which market in Virginia has the highest market score for sit-down restaurants?

Among 11 scored metro areas in or partly in Virginia, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores highest, at 66 (upper middle). Among 4 scored small-town markets in or partly in Virginia, the Lake of the Woods area scores highest, at 78 (high). Among 115 scored counties in Virginia, Fluvanna County scores highest, at 94 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Virginia scores 66 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #8 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Virginia. 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.

Restaurants and cafes32,948 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops4,457 listings
Pizza2,541 listings
Coffee shops and cafes2,910 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops2,847 listings

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