Food and drink · County · Virginia
Sit-down restaurants in Emporia city, VA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Emporia city, VA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 23
- 11 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.8M
- On food away from home · $3,160 a household
- Spending per listing
- $296K
- 55% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 106.6
- 74% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,447
- −4.4% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Emporia city
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 Emporia city. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 sit-down restaurants in Emporia city. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 48%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 106.6 for every 10,000 households, 74% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Households in Emporia city spend about $6.8M a year on food away from home, or $3,160 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Spread across 23 sit-down restaurants, that is $296K per restaurant, 55% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 10 businesses with payroll in Emporia city classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 216 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in Emporia city from 2020 to 2025 at −4.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Emporia city compares
The same measures for Virginia 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 | Emporia city | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 106.6 | 57.1 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $296K | $765K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 216 | 470 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.1% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.4% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,160 | $4,372 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,899 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9 → 10
- Employees, 2023
- 206
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2311 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10The 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 Emporia city, 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 Emporia city
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,447−4.4% since 2020
- Households
- 2,157
- Median age
- 37.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 38%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 7 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 837
- Median household income
- $51,899
- Average household income
- $71,067
- Median home value
- $148,500
- Jobs located here
- 4,395
- Daytime population
- 7,108Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Emporia city?
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 Emporia city. 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Virginia for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Virginia, with Emporia city marked.
Top counties in Virginia
| 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 |
| Emporia city, VA | Not scored | 23 | 106.6 | $296K | −4.4% |
Other business types in Emporia city
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Emporia city, VA?
There are 23 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Emporia city as of September 2026. 11 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.
How much do households in Emporia city, VA spend on food away from home?
About $6.8M a year, or $3,160 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $296K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,157 households in Emporia city and national spending patterns by income.
How does Emporia city, VA compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Emporia city has 106.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 74% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $296K, 55% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Emporia city would have about 10, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 216 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Emporia city, VA growing?
Population estimates put Emporia city at 5,447 people in 2025, down 4.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,157 households. The median household income in Emporia city is $51,899 a year, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Emporia city. 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 Emporia city
Screening a site or an acquisition in Emporia city?
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 Emporia city. 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.