Market Data

Best Cities to Open a Restaurant in 2026 (Market Data)

There are 221,773 full-service restaurants across the 387 U.S. metros we track — an average of 76.8 per 100,000 residents (the typical metro has 71.5). The least-saturated markets have the most room for a well-marketed restaurant. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (2022) and Population Estimates (2023).

Most underserved · full-service restaurants per 100k

Eagle Pass, TX27.7Hanford, CA31.4Provo, UT31.7Logan, UT32.9Hinesville, GA33.8Lakeland, FL36.4Ogden, UT37.1Farmington, NM42.3El Centro, CA42.4Visalia, CA42.8

Most saturated · full-service restaurants per 100k

Barnstable Town, MA187.7Atlantic City, NJ172.2Pittsfield, MA153.8Myrtle Beach, SC145.4Kingston, NY138.2Hilton Head Island, SC132.9Glens Falls, NY131.6Sandusky, OH129.1San Luis Obispo, CA126Crestview, FL125

All 387 full-service restaurants markets by state

Number shown is full-service restaurants per 100,000 residents. Lower = less saturated.