Restaurants in California: 79,696 restaurant locations
California has 79,696 restaurant locations (Census County Business Patterns 2023), 12.9% of the US total and the largest count of any state. In California, 25% of restaurant locations have fewer than five employees, close to the national share of 26%. The average restaurant location in California employs 17.6 people, against 18.4 nationally. Annual payroll per employee is $28,689 in California and $24,280 for the US as a whole. Los Angeles County alone has 21,461 of them (27% of the state), followed by Orange County with 7,707.
Restaurants in California by size
| Employees | Locations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | 19,865 | 24.9% |
| 5-9 | 14,745 | 18.5% |
| 10-19 | 20,575 | 25.8% |
| 20-49 | 19,448 | 24.4% |
| 50-99 | 4,120 | 5.2% |
| 100-249 | 907 | 1.1% |
| 250-499 | 35 | 0% |
| 500-999 | withheld | – |
| 1,000+ | withheld | – |
"Withheld" means the Census Bureau does not publish that cell, usually to protect the confidentiality of a few large employers.
Counties with the most restaurant locations in California
| County | Locations | Share of state |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 21,461 | 26.9% |
| Orange County | 7,707 | 9.7% |
| San Diego County | 6,900 | 8.7% |
| Santa Clara County | 4,104 | 5.1% |
| Riverside County | 4,016 | 5% |
Build a California list in Evascrape
- Industry filter (full search form, after sign-up)
- restaurants, food & beverages
- Job titles
- Owner, General Manager, Director of Operations, Purchasing Manager
- Location
- california, us
Questions
How many restaurant locations are in California?
79,696, according to County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 7225). 45,086 of them have 10 or more employees.
How does California compare with other states for restaurant locations?
California ranks 1st by number of restaurant locations. Texas has 53,191 and New York has 44,870.
What would a California restaurant list cost?
Covering every California restaurant location with 10 or more employees once would be 45,086 records, about $406 at $9 per 1,000 delivered records.
About the numbers
Business counts: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. They count establishments (single physical locations) with paid employees, so firms with several locations count more than once and businesses with no employees are not included. Occupation and pay figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. BLS counts employees only, so self-employed owners are not included in occupation figures. These are public statistics, not the size of the Evascrape database: list cost figures on these pages are upper bounds, because not every location has a matching contact, and you pay only for rows that are delivered. Evascrape prices are from the pricing page: $9 per 1,000 delivered contact records, smallest top-up $10 (about 1,100 records), optional email verification $5 per 1,000, no subscription.