Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · West Virginia

Sit-down restaurants in the Wheeling, WV-OH metro area

The sit-down restaurants in the Wheeling, WV-OH metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #307 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia

Listings
281
107 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
95
+5.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$193.9M
On food away from home · $3,342 a household
Spending per listing
$690K
4% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
48.4
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
134,089
−3.6% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Wheeling 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 Wheeling 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 Wheeling metro area has a Groundwork market score of 35 (lower middle): #307 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on food away from home in the Wheeling metro area comes to about $193.9M a year: $3,342 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $690K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 4% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

The Wheeling metro area has 281 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 48.4, 21% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 95 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Wheeling metro area in 2023, up 5.6% from 2019. That is one for every 611 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $120K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Wheeling metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Wheeling metro area declined 3.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Wheeling 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 Wheeling, WV-OH metro area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureWheeling metro areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households48.445.861.3
Spending per listing$690K$730K$664K
Households per official establishment611590500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.6%+5.0%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,342$3,343$4,070
Median household income$57,418$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score3541

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
95+5.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,298
Annual payroll, 2023
$45.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
7Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
281107 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
292The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$120K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
134,089−3.6% since 2020
Households
58,024
Median age
44.8
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
944 sq. mi.
People per square mile
145
Median household income
$57,418+14.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,303
Median home value
$156,600
Jobs located here
58,297
Daytime population
134,771Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Wheeling 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 Wheeling 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 Wheeling 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 Wheeling, WV-OH metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 281 sit-down restaurants in the Wheeling metro area. 107 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 95 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 5.6% from 2019. Another 7 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $193.9M a year, or $3,342 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 281 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $690K 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 58,024 households in the Wheeling metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Wheeling metro area has 48.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $690K, 4% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Wheeling metro area would have about 292, against 281 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 5.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Wheeling, WV-OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Wheeling metro area at 134,089 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 58,024 households. Median household income in the Wheeling metro area is $57,418, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 14.0%, 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 Wheeling metro area scores 35 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #307 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 Wheeling 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 Wheeling metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wheeling 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.