BizGapMap

Home / Lowest measured density / Full-service restaurants / Tennessee

Lowest measured density of restaurants in Tennessee

Tennessee has 24 ZIP codes where published counts of restaurants are statistically below the U.S. rate. Coverage is the Tennessee counties on this site, not the whole state. Same filters as the radius search. Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024.

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

Statistically low ZIPs
24
Poisson p < 0.05
Comparable ZIPs
74
published count ≥ 5, ≥ 10,000 residents
U.S. rate
6.4
per 10,000 present

Coverage. Only the Tennessee counties BizGapMap covers, not the whole state. A missing state page means no ZIP there cleared the test — we do not publish an empty list.

Lowest measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A low published count can mean weak demand, no suitable space, commuters spending elsewhere, or businesses with no paid employees that ZBP does not count. Each line is a question to check locally.

False positives. The test is one-sided at 5% with no correction for looking at many ZIPs. Of 74 comparable ZIPs here, about 4 could clear the bar by chance. Small ZIPs rarely reach significance, so “not on this list” does not mean “no gap”.

ZIP codes

ZIPCityCounty RestaurantsExpected IndexBandZIP type ResidentsTest
38128 Memphis Shelby County 5 30.2 17% Far below average Residential 42,162 p < 0.001
37921 Knoxville Knox County 5 26.9 19% Far below average Mixed 28,717 p < 0.001
38118 Memphis Shelby County 9 45.6 20% Far below average Mixed 39,107 p < 0.001
37086 La Vergne Rutherford County 10 33.0 30% Far below average Mixed 38,872 p < 0.001
37931 Knoxville Knox County 7 22.6 31% Far below average Residential 31,842 p < 0.001
37416 Chattanooga Hamilton County 5 14.1 36% Far below average Mixed 13,919 p < 0.01
37404 Chattanooga Hamilton County 5 13.0 39% Far below average Mixed 14,737 p ≈ 0.011
37914 Knoxville Knox County 7 17.1 41% Far below average Residential 21,478 p < 0.01
37377 Signal Mountain Hamilton County 5 11.6 43% Far below average Residential 17,188 p ≈ 0.027
37932 Knoxville Knox County 10 22.3 45% Far below average Mixed 25,424 p < 0.01
37379 Soddy Daisy Hamilton County 9 19.7 46% Far below average Residential 29,430 p < 0.01
37207 Nashville Davidson County 15 32.6 46% Far below average Residential 41,366 p < 0.001
37127 Murfreesboro Rutherford County 8 17.2 46% Far below average Mixed 21,499 p ≈ 0.011
37128 Murfreesboro Rutherford County 26 53.1 49% Far below average Residential 79,268 p < 0.001
38120 Memphis Shelby County 7 13.7 51% Below average Mixed 13,309 p ≈ 0.036
37013 Antioch Davidson County 37 71.4 52% Below average Residential 105,212 p < 0.001
37363 Ooltewah Hamilton County 17 30.2 56% Below average Residential 42,093 p < 0.01
37920 Knoxville Knox County 19 33.5 57% Below average Residential 44,995 p < 0.01
37849 Powell Knox County 12 20.7 58% Below average Residential 29,375 p ≈ 0.029
38016 Cordova Shelby County 18 30.9 58% Below average Residential 44,136 p < 0.01
37918 Knoxville Knox County 19 32.5 58% Below average Residential 45,971 p < 0.01
38111 Memphis Shelby County 18 29.1 62% Below average Residential 41,934 p ≈ 0.019
38116 Memphis Shelby County 20 31.0 65% Below average Residential 40,061 p ≈ 0.024
38018 Cordova Shelby County 19 28.3 67% Below average Residential 38,527 p ≈ 0.042

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns. Sorted by measured density, lowest first.

How this is built

Who can be listed. ZIPs in the covered counties whose county has at least 15 ZIPs in our data, with at least 10,000 residents, and at least 5 published businesses in this industry. Census hides counts of 0–2; derived remainders are excluded.

Statistically low. P(X ≤ n | expected) < 0.05, where expected is the U.S. establishments-per-person-present rate times this ZIP’s demand (residents + 0.5 × jobs located here). Same definition as the index, so the percentage and the test cannot disagree. Full test →

ZIP type is jobs per resident, not zoning. A residential ZIP can look low because residents shop near work.

Questions

What does “lowest measured density” mean for restaurants? A ZIP is listed only when Census published at least 5 restaurants with paid employees, the ZIP has at least 10,000 residents, and a one-sided Poisson test finds the count statistically below the U.S. rate (p < 0.05). Index 100% is the national density per person present.

Is a low-density ZIP a place to open this kind of business? No. A low published count of restaurants can mean weak demand, no suitable space, residents shopping near work, or businesses with no paid employees that Census ZBP does not count. Each line is a question to check locally, not a recommendation.

Why is a state missing from this list? A state page exists only when at least one ZIP in the counties we cover clears the same test as the radius search. We do not publish an empty list. Coverage is those counties, not the whole state.

← All states for restaurants  ·  Restaurants in Tennessee (county totals)  ·  Search by radius

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.