Groundwork

Food and drink · County · West Virginia

Sit-down restaurants in Upshur County, WV

How Upshur County, WV compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,398 of 2,405 scored counties
#21 of 43 scored counties in West Virginia

Listings
38
10 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
16
−20.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$30.5M
On food away from home · $3,188 a household
Spending per listing
$802K
21% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
39.8
35% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
23,758
−0.3% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Upshur County

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 Upshur County. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 38 sit-down restaurants in Upshur County. Chain locations make up 26% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 39.8 for every 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Upshur County comes to about $30.5M a year: $3,188 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That is about $802K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 21% 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 16 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Upshur County in 2023, down 20.0% from 2019. That is one for every 597 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Upshur County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For sit-down restaurants, Upshur County has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #1,398 of 2,405 scored counties and #21 of 43 scored counties in West Virginia.

How Upshur County 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 Upshur County, WV compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureUpshur CountyWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households39.845.861.3
Spending per listing$802K$730K$664K
Households per official establishment597590500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−20.0%+5.0%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,188$3,343$4,070
Median household income$54,338$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score4541

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
20 → 16−20.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
255
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3810 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
46The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Upshur County, 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 Upshur County

Population, 2025 estimate
23,758−0.3% since 2020
Households
9,557
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
355 sq. mi.
People per square mile
67
Median household income
$54,338+34.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,843
Median home value
$170,800
Jobs located here
7,754
Daytime population
21,898Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Upshur County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Upshur County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Sit-down restaurants across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in West Virginia for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in West Virginia, with Upshur County marked.

Top counties in West Virginia

Counties in West Virginia ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Berkeley County, WV8118135.5$1.1M+13.7%#111 of 2,405
2Morgan County, WV751925.9$1.3M+5.5%#232 of 2,405
3Jefferson County, WV7410244.7$977K+9.2%#273 of 2,405
4Hampshire County, WV732326.6$1.3M+4.4%#291 of 2,405
5Putnam County, WV728737.4$1.1M−1.0%#314 of 2,405
6Taylor County, WV671725.7$1.3M−2.4%#445 of 2,405
7Wayne County, WV634025.4$1.3M−4.0%#596 of 2,405
8Mason County, WV622726.4$1.2M−2.7%#645 of 2,405
9Preston County, WV624938.3$871K−0.6%#660 of 2,405
10Boone County, WV612126.5$1.2M−6.9%#693 of 2,405
21Upshur County, WV453839.8$802K−0.3%#1,398 of 2,405

Other business types in Upshur County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Upshur County, WV?

There are 38 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Upshur County as of September 2026. 10 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 20.0% from 2019.

How much do households in Upshur County, WV spend on food away from home?

About $30.5M a year, or $3,188 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 38 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $802K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,557 households in Upshur County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Upshur County, WV compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Upshur County has 39.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $802K, 21% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Upshur County would have about 46, against 38 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 597 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 20.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Upshur County, WV growing?

Population estimates put Upshur County at 23,758 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,557 households. The median household income in Upshur County is $54,338 a year, 33% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.8% 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. 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. Upshur County scores 45 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,398 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Upshur County. 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 Upshur County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Upshur County?

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 Upshur County. 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.