Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Virginia

Sit-down restaurants in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #117 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia

Listings
241
88 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments
91
−6.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$188.8M
On food away from home · $3,615 a household
Spending per listing
$783K
18% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
46.1
25% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
129,692
+3.2% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 241 sit-down restaurants in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 46.1 per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $3,615 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area spend about $188.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $783K per restaurant, 18% above 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 91 businesses with payroll in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area classed as full-service restaurants, down 6.2% from 2019. That is one for every 574 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $2.5M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area grew 3.2%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area is 59 (upper middle), #117 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.

How the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureStaunton-Stuarts Draft metro areaVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households46.157.161.3
Spending per listing$783K$765K$664K
Households per official establishment574470500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−6.2%+2.1%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,615$4,372$4,070
Median household income$73,544$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score5966

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
91−6.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,634
Annual payroll, 2023
$39M
One-person businesses, 2023
11Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
24188 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
285The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$2.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
129,692+3.2% since 2020
Households
52,233
Median age
43.0
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,002 sq. mi.
People per square mile
127
Median household income
$73,544+28.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$90,893
Median home value
$284,500
Jobs located here
51,901
Daytime population
117,298Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area. 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 Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV6615,31664.5$796K+3.3%#74 of 387
1Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA5924146.1$783K+3.2%#117 of 387
2Richmond, VA583,03456.9$733K+5.5%#126 of 387
3Winchester, VA-WV5332258.0$699K+6.5%#164 of 387
4Lynchburg, VA5050749.0$723K+2.9%#189 of 387
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA4660746.4$712K+2.3%#220 of 387
5Charlottesville, VA4559665.9$662K+3.1%#230 of 387
6Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA4035450.4$712K−0.1%#273 of 387
7Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC404,14958.7$684K+0.9%#274 of 387
8Roanoke, VA3669152.5$691K+0.4%#296 of 387

Other business types in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area?

The Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area has 241 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 88 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 91 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 6.2% from 2019. Official counts list 11 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $188.8M a year, or $3,615 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 241 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $783K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 52,233 households in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area has 46.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $783K, 18% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area would have about 285, against 241 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 574 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area at 129,692 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 52,233 households. The median household income in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area is $73,544 a year, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.7% 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area scores 59 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #117 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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 Staunton-Stuarts Draft 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.