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Lowest measured density of restaurants in Virginia

Virginia has 23 ZIP codes where published counts of restaurants are statistically below the U.S. rate. Coverage is the Virginia 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 · Mexican, Chinese, Italian and other cuisines · Steakhouses and seafood restaurants. Census publishes one 6-digit code (722511) and does not split these types. The density index uses that one count.

Statistically low ZIPs
23
Poisson p < 0.05
Comparable ZIPs
86
published count ≥ 5, ≥ 10,000 residents
U.S. rate
6.4
per 10,000 present

Coverage. Only the Virginia 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 A missing state page means no ZIP there cleared the test — we do not publish an empty list.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 86 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
20191 Reston Fairfax County 8 31.0 26% Far below average Mixed 31,011 p < 0.001
22043 Falls Church Fairfax County 5 19.0 26% Far below average Residential 25,750 p < 0.001
23222 Richmond Richmond city 5 18.3 27% Far below average Residential 26,322 p < 0.001
20112 Manassas Prince William County 6 20.3 30% Far below average Residential 30,500 p < 0.001
23504 Norfolk Norfolk city 5 16.4 30% Far below average Residential 23,502 p < 0.01
20105 Aldie Loudoun County 8 25.1 32% Far below average Residential 37,639 p < 0.001
23238 Henrico Henrico County 8 23.4 34% Far below average Mixed 26,050 p < 0.001
22153 Springfield Fairfax County 8 22.8 35% Far below average Residential 32,664 p < 0.001
20136 Bristow Prince William County 8 21.8 37% Far below average Residential 32,325 p < 0.001
22193 Woodbridge Prince William County 21 54.3 39% Far below average Residential 81,588 p < 0.001
23503 Norfolk Norfolk city 8 19.9 40% Far below average Residential 30,216 p < 0.01
22152 Springfield Fairfax County 8 19.7 41% Far below average Residential 28,814 p < 0.01
23453 Virginia Beach Virginia Beach city 10 23.9 42% Far below average Residential 34,482 p < 0.01
22032 Fairfax Fairfax County 9 19.9 45% Far below average Residential 29,240 p < 0.01
23513 Norfolk Norfolk city 10 21.6 46% Far below average Residential 28,628 p < 0.01
20171 Herndon Fairfax County 26 53.2 49% Far below average Mixed 51,286 p < 0.001
20148 Ashburn Loudoun County 22 43.1 51% Below average Residential 64,021 p < 0.001
23227 Richmond Henrico County 10 19.0 53% Below average Residential 24,925 p ≈ 0.019
22079 Lorton Fairfax County 15 27.2 55% Below average Residential 35,284 p < 0.01
20169 Haymarket Prince William County 11 19.6 56% Below average Residential 28,089 p ≈ 0.026
20120 Centreville Fairfax County 18 29.1 62% Below average Residential 42,896 p ≈ 0.019
23464 Virginia Beach Virginia Beach city 35 53.1 66% Below average Residential 75,061 p < 0.01
22191 Woodbridge Prince William County 38 50.9 75% Below average Residential 73,623 p ≈ 0.037

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 Virginia (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.