Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · West Virginia

Sit-down restaurants in the Charleston, WV metro area

How the Charleston, WV 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 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #325 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia

Listings
430
193 chain locations (45%)
Official establishments
143
+7.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$290.8M
On food away from home · $3,329 a household
Spending per listing
$676K
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
49.2
20% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
200,170
−4.7% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Charleston 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 Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For sit-down restaurants, the Charleston metro area has a Groundwork market score of 32 (lower middle): #325 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

At $3,329 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Charleston metro area spend about $290.8M a year on food away from home. That is about $676K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 2% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 430 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Charleston metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 45% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 49.2, 20% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 143 businesses with payroll in the Charleston metro area classed as full-service restaurants, up 7.6% from 2019. That is one for every 611 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.2M has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Charleston metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Charleston metro area declined 4.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Charleston metro area compares

The same measures for West 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 Charleston, WV metro area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureCharleston metro areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households49.245.861.3
Spending per listing$676K$730K$664K
Households per official establishment611590500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.6%+5.0%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.7%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,329$3,343$4,070
Median household income$60,117$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score3241

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
143+7.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,111
Annual payroll, 2023
$72.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
20Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
430193 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
438The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Charleston 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 Charleston metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
200,170−4.7% since 2020
Households
87,358
Median age
43.9
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,746 sq. mi.
People per square mile
118
Median household income
$60,117
Average household income
$81,990
Median home value
$141,100
Jobs located here
110,278
Daytime population
231,110Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charleston 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.

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Sit-down restaurants across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV7751343.4$882K+7.1%#21 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV6615,31664.5$796K+3.3%#74 of 387
1Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH5463942.0$799K−2.6%#150 of 387
Winchester, VA-WV5332258.0$699K+6.5%#164 of 387
2Parkersburg-Vienna, WV4315540.9$799K−2.3%#242 of 387
3Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH3623647.5$693K−3.6%#295 of 387
4Beckley, WV3620445.4$679K−4.3%#298 of 387
5Wheeling, WV-OH3528148.4$690K−3.6%#307 of 387
6Charleston, WV3243049.2$676K−4.7%#325 of 387
7Morgantown, WV2735361.5$588K+1.3%#356 of 387

Other business types in the Charleston metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Charleston, WV metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 430 sit-down restaurants in the Charleston metro area. 193 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 143 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 7.6% from 2019. Another 20 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Charleston, WV metro area spend on food away from home?

About $290.8M a year, or $3,329 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 430 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $676K 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 87,358 households in the Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charleston, WV metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Charleston metro area has 49.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $676K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Charleston metro area would have about 438, against 430 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 611 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Charleston, WV metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charleston metro area at 200,170 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 87,358 households. Median household income in the Charleston metro area is $60,117, 26% 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 Charleston metro area scores 32 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #325 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 Charleston 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 Charleston metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston metro area?

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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.