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Restaurants in North Carolina

How many restaurants exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 23 North Carolina counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Sit-down restaurants with table service. Counted together because official statistics use one 722511 code.

State verdict (covered counties): In line with the U.S. rate — 106% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in North Carolina

Restaurants

5,965

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

6.8

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.4

per 10,000 present

State index

106%

vs. U.S.

Residents

7,284,936

in covered counties

Workers

3,028,827

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 23 North Carolina counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing restaurants and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in North Carolina

City	County	Restaurants	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Wilmington	New Hanover County	328–338	237,060	118,886	11.1	173–174%	High density
Asheville	Buncombe County	331–355	269,596	125,376	10.0	156–160%	High density
Leland	Brunswick County	142–148	151,179	32,781	8.5	133–136%	Above average
Charlotte	Mecklenburg County	1,130–1,212	1,173,019	704,489	7.4	116%	Above average
Jacksonville	Onslow County	157–169	204,246	41,476	7.0	109–115%	Above average
Mooresville	Iredell County	160–176	192,680	79,784	6.9	108–112%	Above average
Morrisville	Wake County	1,043–1,087	1,254,117	563,740	6.8	106–107%	Above average
Concord	Cabarrus County	179–185	236,047	74,847	6.5	102–104%	Above average
Winston Salem	Forsyth County	329–357	416,830	178,036	6.5	102–104%	Above average
Greenville	Pitt County	136–158	180,210	62,893	6.4	101–111%	Above average
Burlington	Alamance County	139–149	187,008	63,483	6.4	99–104%	Range spans bands
Greensboro	Guilford County	445–489	577,982	264,336	6.3	98–102%	Range spans bands
Durham	Durham County	262–278	327,804	174,233	6.2	97–99%	Below average
Hickory	Catawba County	133–139	172,263	85,017	6.2	97–100%	Below average
Fayetteville	Cumberland County	244–262	348,651	97,067	6.1	96–102%	Range spans bands
Chapel Hill	Orange County	114–122	159,674	52,230	6.1	96–99%	Below average
Salisbury	Rowan County	90–104	133,355	45,889	5.8	90–102%	Range spans bands
Asheboro	Randolph County	81–97	127,973	30,351	5.7	89–102%	Range spans bands
Thomasville	Davidson County	90–100	142,181	36,165	5.6	88–92%	Below average
Gastonia	Gaston County	143–153	238,761	70,983	5.2	82–85%	Below average
Clayton	Johnston County	100–108	189,124	42,187	4.8	74–77%	Below average
Monroe	Union County	132–136	250,703	61,424	4.7	73–75%	Below average
Dunn	Harnett County	57–67	114,473	23,154	4.5	71–81%	Below average

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

173%

156%

133%

116%

109%

108%

106%

102%

Most competitors per capita

71%

73%

74%

82%

88%

89%

90%

96%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few restaurants may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.