Food and drink · Small-town market · Washington
Sit-down restaurants in the Port Townsend, WA area
How the Port Townsend, WA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #207 of 538 scored small-town markets
#6 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington
- Listings
- 87
- 8 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 43
- +4.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $63M
- On food away from home · $3,856 a household
- Spending per listing
- $724K
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 53.2
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 33,970
- +2.7% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 87 sit-down restaurants in the Port Townsend area. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 53.2, 13% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Households in the Port Townsend area spend about $63M a year on food away from home, or $3,856 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $724K per restaurant, 9% 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.
Official counts show 43 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Port Townsend area in 2023, up 4.9% from 2019. That is one for every 380 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $202K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Port Townsend area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Port Townsend area grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Port Townsend area has a Groundwork market score of 56 (upper middle): #207 of 538 scored small-town markets and #6 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington.
How the Port Townsend area compares
The same measures for Washington 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 | Port Townsend area | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 53.2 | 54.7 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $724K | $823K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 380 | 456 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.9% | +3.6% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +3.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,856 | $4,501 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $74,048 | $98,141 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 43+4.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 472
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $14.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 878 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 95The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $202K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 33,970+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,340
- Median age
- 58.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,804 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 19
- Median household income
- $74,048
- Average household income
- $104,756
- Median home value
- $535,000
- Jobs located here
- 8,967
- Daytime population
- 30,032Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend 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 Washington
Every Washington market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Washington for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Washington, with the Port Townsend area marked.
Top small-town markets in Washington
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Shelton, WA | 90 | 96 | 36.9 | $1.1M | +7.8% | #3 of 538 |
| 2Oak Harbor, WA | 69 | 131 | 36.4 | $1.1M | −1.5% | #77 of 538 |
| 3Centralia, WA | 64 | 153 | 46.5 | $802K | +6.7% | #120 of 538 |
| 4Port Angeles, WA | 61 | 145 | 41.4 | $889K | +1.1% | #149 of 538 |
| 5Moses Lake, WA | 58 | 199 | 56.2 | $649K | +6.3% | #189 of 538 |
| 6Port Townsend, WA | 56 | 87 | 53.2 | $724K | +2.7% | #207 of 538 |
| 7Aberdeen, WA | 53 | 143 | 46.7 | $742K | +3.0% | #233 of 538 |
| 8Pullman, WA | 52 | 91 | 48.6 | $710K | +1.5% | #245 of 538 |
| 9Ellensburg, WA | 47 | 130 | 65.0 | $600K | +4.2% | #305 of 538 |
| 10Othello, WA | 39 | 44 | 70.0 | $505K | +4.3% | #390 of 538 |
Other business types in the Port Townsend area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes61
- Sit-down restaurants56
- Fast food and sandwich shops92
- Pizza92
- Coffee shops and cafes40
- Bakeries and dessert shops69
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 Port Townsend, WA area?
There are 87 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Port Townsend area as of September 2026. 8 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 43 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.9% from 2019.
How much do households in the Port Townsend, WA area spend on food away from home?
About $63M a year, or $3,856 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 87 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $724K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,340 households in the Port Townsend area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Port Townsend, WA area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Port Townsend area has 53.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $724K, 9% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Port Townsend area would have about 95, against 87 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 380 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Port Townsend, WA area growing?
Population estimates put the Port Townsend area at 33,970 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,340 households. The median household income in the Port Townsend area is $74,048 a year, 8% 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. 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 Port Townsend area scores 56 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #207 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 Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend 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.