Food and drink · Small-town market · West Virginia
Sit-down restaurants in the Elkins, WV area
How the Elkins, WV 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 22 out of 100: Low
Ranked #513 of 538 scored small-town markets
#4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia
- Listings
- 56
- 17 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $34M
- On food away from home · $3,184 a household
- Spending per listing
- $607K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 52.4
- 15% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 26,882
- −3.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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
The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Elkins area is 22 (low), #513 of 538 scored small-town markets and #4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 56 sit-down restaurants in the Elkins area. 17 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 52.4, 15% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Households in the Elkins area spend about $34M a year on food away from home, or $3,184 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $607K per restaurant, 9% 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 24 businesses with payroll in the Elkins area classed as full-service restaurants, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 445 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $400K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Elkins area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elkins area declined 3.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Elkins 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.
| Measure | Elkins area | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 52.4 | 45.8 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $607K | $730K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 445 | 590 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +5.0% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.6% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,184 | $3,343 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $52,757 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 22 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 240.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 385
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5617 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 51The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $400K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Elkins 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 Elkins area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 26,882−3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 10,678
- Median age
- 44.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,040 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 27
- Median household income
- $52,757+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $71,437
- Median home value
- $144,800
- Jobs located here
- 10,659
- Daytime population
- 26,808Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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 West Virginia
Every West Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets 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 Elkins area marked.
Top small-town markets in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fairmont, WV | 53 | 98 | 42.0 | $824K | −1.2% | #230 of 538 |
| 2Clarksburg, WV | 48 | 155 | 43.6 | $782K | −2.4% | #281 of 538 |
| Cumberland, MD-WV | 48 | 171 | 44.4 | $743K | −1.3% | #283 of 538 |
| 3Bluefield, WV-VA | 36 | 181 | 44.7 | $691K | −3.8% | #414 of 538 |
| 4Elkins, WV | 22 | 56 | 52.4 | $607K | −3.6% | #513 of 538 |
Other business types in the Elkins area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes32
- Sit-down restaurants22
- Fast food and sandwich shops35
- Pizza34
- Coffee shops and cafes60
- Bakeries and dessert shops58
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 Elkins, WV area?
There are 56 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Elkins area as of September 2026. 17 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Elkins, WV area spend on food away from home?
About $34M a year, or $3,184 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 56 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $607K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,678 households in the Elkins area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elkins, WV area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Elkins area has 52.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $607K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Elkins area would have about 51, against 56 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 445 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Elkins, WV area growing?
Population estimates put the Elkins area at 26,882 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,678 households. The median household income in the Elkins area is $52,757 a year, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.8% 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. 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 Elkins area scores 22 for sit-down restaurants (low), #513 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 Elkins 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 Elkins area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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.