Food and drink · Metro area · Washington
Sit-down restaurants in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area
How the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #92 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 11 scored metro areas based in Washington
- Listings
- 9,916
- 2,204 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 3,876
- +2.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $7.9B
- On food away from home · $4,929 a household
- Spending per listing
- $800K
- 20% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 61.6
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 4,161,883
- +3.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 9,916 sit-down restaurants in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. Chain locations make up 22% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 61.6, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area comes to about $7.9B a year: $4,929 per household, 21% above the U.S. average. Spread across 9,916 sit-down restaurants, that is $800K per restaurant, 20% 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 3,876 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area in 2023, up 2.6% from 2019. That is one for every 415 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 432 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 279 SBA-backed loans worth $159M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area grew 3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #92 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 11 scored metro areas based in Washington. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro 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 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 61.6 | 54.7 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $800K | $823K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 415 | 456 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.6% | +3.6% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +3.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,929 | $4,501 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $115,177 | $98,141 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3,876+2.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 65,711
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.5B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 432Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9,9162,204 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11,948The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 279
- Amount
- $159M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 4,161,883+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,608,596
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 5,870 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 692
- Median household income
- $115,177+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $158,706
- Median home value
- $717,500
- Jobs located here
- 2,129,194
- Daytime population
- 4,229,343Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro 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 metro areas in Washington for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Washington (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Washington
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 79 | 496 | 41.7 | $1M | +2.8% | #16 of 387 |
| 2Longview-Kelso, WA | 72 | 172 | 39.1 | $965K | +3.5% | #36 of 387 |
| 3Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 71 | 495 | 45.6 | $1M | +2.7% | #40 of 387 |
| 4Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 71 | 971 | 40.8 | $950K | +3.5% | #41 of 387 |
| Lewiston, ID-WA | 69 | 105 | 39.2 | $939K | +1.5% | #53 of 387 |
| 5Kennewick-Richland, WA | 69 | 590 | 54.7 | $763K | +6.5% | #58 of 387 |
| 6Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 63 | 9,916 | 61.6 | $800K | +3.3% | #92 of 387 |
| 7Bellingham, WA | 56 | 494 | 52.5 | $766K | +3.9% | #138 of 387 |
| 8Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 45 | 313 | 59.8 | $695K | +2.4% | #229 of 387 |
| 9Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | 44 | 291 | 61.3 | $663K | +5.0% | #237 of 387 |
Other business types in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes66
- Sit-down restaurants63
- Fast food and sandwich shops84
- Pizza84
- Coffee shops and cafes37
- Bakeries and dessert shops66
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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area?
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area has 9,916 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 2,204 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 3,876 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 2.6% from 2019. Another 432 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $7.9B a year, or $4,929 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9,916 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $800K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,608,596 households in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area has 61.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $800K, 20% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area would have about 11,948, against 9,916 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 415 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area at 4,161,883 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,608,596 households. The median household income in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is $115,177 a year, 43% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area scores 63 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #92 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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.