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Harris County, TX — Restaurants Saturation

How many restaurants exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 213 ZIP codes analyzed.

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

Measured density: Below average — 0.93× the U.S. rate (between 0.93× and 0.94× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 90 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 11 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

In line with the U.S. rate   Harris County restaurants — 93–94% of the U.S. rate

3,534 restaurants are counted in Harris County — 5.9 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 93% of the U.S. rate of 6.4.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 21% between 2015 and 2023 (2,864 → 3,470). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 77006 (Houston), 77098 (Houston), 77003 (Houston) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 77047 (Houston), 77088 (Houston), 77506 (Pasadena).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 3,522 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Harris County sits at 93% of the U.S. rate for restaurants. 11 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 93% and 94% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 77006 and 77098; the lowest measured density is in 77047 and 77088.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing restaurants and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Restaurants
3,534–3,714
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (90 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
5.9
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
6.4
per 10,000 present
County index
0.93×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
3,522
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
4,866,005
133 ZIPs with data
Workers
2,159,333
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
5,009,302
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+5.8%
+273,919 people
Net migration 2024
+69,961
international +101,126, domestic −31,165
Jobs located here
2,441,590
LODES 2022, +0.2% since 2019

Harris County had an estimated 5,009,302 residents on July 1, 2024 — 5.8% more than in 2020 (+273,919). In the latest year it gained 105,852 people: births minus deaths +35,833, international migration +101,126, domestic migration −31,165. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

2,441,590 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+0.2% since 2019), and 2,002,504 employed residents lived there (−0.3% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
77493 Katy
+96.7%
77447 Hockley
+55.3%
77484 Waller
+31.9%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
77023 Houston
−16.7%
77067 Houston
−13.4%
77401 Bellaire
−11.1%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses
2,033
no paid employees (2024)
Receipts
$109.6M
published gross receipts
Receipts per business
$54K
gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more restaurants in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 21% since 2015

Number of restaurants in Harris County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

2,864
2015
3,056
2018
3,148
2020
3,225
2021
3,389
2022
3,470
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
77006 Houston
396%
77098 Houston
380%
77003 Houston
303%
77036 Houston
274%
77007 Houston
268%
77598 Webster
244%
77505 Pasadena
222%
77057 Houston
216%
77005 Houston
197%
77069 Houston
196%
77072 Houston
195%
77008 Houston
195%
77024 Houston
180%
77070 Houston
165%
77019 Houston
163%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
77047 Houston
16%
77088 Houston
16%
77506 Pasadena
16%
77045 Houston
17%
77066 Houston
18%
77091 Houston
20%
77038 Houston
20%
77071 Houston
22%
77026 Houston
25%
77073 Houston
28%
77082 Houston
28%
77028 Houston
29%
77014 Houston
29%
77044 Houston
30%
77493 Katy
30%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few restaurants may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersRestaurantsIndex
77002Houston Employment hub 21,01593,588 96 222%
77056Houston Employment hub 22,87756,519 71 217%
77027Houston Employment hub 20,31741,087 50 192%
77010Houston Destination 71817,148 8 135%
77032Houston Employment hub 12,40347,839 12 52%
77030Houston Employment hub 13,380105,516 9 21%
77046Houston Destination 1,79318,455 0–2 —
77507Pasadena Destination 56711,030 0–2 —

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = restaurants per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersRestaurants Per 10kIndexStatus
77006Houston 24,89215,124 82 25.3 396% Very high density
77098Houston 17,21021,612 68 24.3 380% Very high density
77003Houston 10,1646,543 26 19.4 303% Very high density
77036Houston 71,77033,554 155 17.5 274% Very high density
77007Houston 47,80823,505 102 17.1 268% Very high density
77598Webster 26,11023,542 59 15.6 244% High density
77505Pasadena 23,17415,733 44 14.2 222% High density
77002Houston 21,01593,588 96 14.2 222% High density
77056Houston 22,87756,519 71 13.9 217% High density
77057Houston 46,56931,327 86 13.8 216% High density
77005Houston 28,87417,091 47 12.6 197% High density
77069Houston 20,6086,701 30 12.5 196% High density
77072Houston 57,10818,771 83 12.5 195% High density
77008Houston 41,64527,449 69 12.5 195% High density
77027Houston 20,31741,087 50 12.2 192% High density
77024Houston 38,28860,736 79 11.5 180% High density
77070Houston 58,22931,546 78 10.5 165% High density
77019Houston 23,70819,660 35 10.4 163% High density
77401Bellaire 17,21311,816 24 10.4 162% High density
77055Houston 45,43526,059 60 10.3 161% High density
77077Houston 60,09824,801 68 9.4 147% Above average
77058Houston 17,85020,626 26 9.2 145% Above average
77029Houston 16,15416,211 22 9.1 142% Above average
77009Houston 35,7696,348 35 9.0 141% Above average
77586Seabrook 23,8074,640 23 8.8 138% Above average
77063Houston 42,69017,393 45 8.8 137% Above average
77450Katy 71,90616,474 70 8.7 137% Above average
77010Houston 71817,148 8 8.6 135% Above average
77338Humble 48,03122,996 51 8.6 134% Above average
77379Spring 85,19018,372 77 8.2 128% Above average
77074Houston 38,66023,370 41 8.1 127% Above average
77090Houston 40,11015,891 37 7.7 121% Above average
77018Houston 31,03113,532 29 7.7 120% Above average
77094Houston 10,39514,374 13 7.4 116% Above average
77042Houston 38,72141,072 43 7.3 114% Above average
77068Houston 13,1894,123 11 7.2 113% Above average
77079Houston 37,27647,984 44 7.2 112% Above average
77339Kingwood 44,53814,810 37 7.1 112% Above average
77504Pasadena 25,7798,019 20 6.7 105% Above average
77065Houston 38,92615,180 31 6.7 104% Above average
77449Katy 130,02827,949 94 6.5 102% Above average
77388Spring 53,42511,272 37 6.3 98% Below average
77004Houston 35,9978,467 25 6.2 97% Below average
77587South Houston 16,0333,391 11 6.2 97% Below average
77375Tomball 72,31120,055 51 6.2 97% Below average
77562Highlands 8,9141,788 6 6.1 96% Below average
77025Houston 29,71510,163 21 6.0 94% Below average
77433Cypress 116,55024,617 77 6.0 94% Below average
77081Houston 50,12914,468 34 5.9 93% Below average
77096Houston 35,0328,532 23 5.9 92% Below average
77076Houston 31,2226,981 20 5.8 90% Below average
77011Houston 14,9405,472 10 5.7 89% Below average
77429Cypress 96,33419,830 59 5.6 87% Below average
77037Houston 19,00412,953 14 5.5 86% Below average
77084Houston 110,21725,157 64 5.2 82% Below average
77040Houston 50,97740,112 37 5.2 82% Below average
77017Houston 29,64011,240 18 5.1 80% Below average
77064Houston 49,59131,388 33 5.1 79% Below average
77086Houston 28,65310,113 17 5.0 79% Below average
77023Houston 24,28111,147 15 5.0 79% Below average
77571La Porte 38,54331,722 27 5.0 78% Below average
77034Houston 36,45616,153 22 4.9 77% Below average
77087Houston 34,3479,468 19 4.9 76% Below average
77520Baytown 36,35513,229 20 4.7 73% Below average
77377Tomball 41,6807,308 21 4.6 73% Below average
77031Houston 15,1794,294 8 4.6 72% Below average
77532Crosby 33,7804,148 16 4.5 70% Below average
77022Houston 25,8057,259 13 4.4 69% Below average
77039Houston 27,8628,261 14 4.4 68% Below average
77521Baytown 69,03817,772 34 4.4 68% Below average
77389Spring 45,70124,787 25 4.3 67% Below average
77092Houston 36,93828,805 22 4.3 67% Below average
77049Houston 40,4188,888 19 4.2 66% Below average
77080Houston 47,6388,890 22 4.2 66% Below average
77015Houston 58,41516,742 28 4.2 66% Below average
77059Houston 18,7673,734 8 3.9 61% Below average
77536Deer Park 33,17423,424 17 3.8 59% Below average
77095Houston 69,76717,638 29 3.7 58% Below average
77089Houston 57,7417,127 21 3.4 54% Below average
77373Spring 69,7398,814 25 3.4 53% Below average
77083Houston 73,2307,885 26 3.4 53% Below average
77032Houston 12,40347,839 12 3.3 52% Below average
77346Humble 79,5389,026 27 3.2 50% Below average
77484Waller 14,34810,823 6 3.0 48% Far below average
77062Houston 25,5232,879 8 3.0 46% Far below average
77020Houston 23,6867,182 8 2.9 46% Far below average
77503Pasadena 23,86613,968 9 2.9 46% Far below average
77061Houston 24,00414,494 9 2.9 45% Far below average
77075Houston 40,62611,440 13 2.8 44% Far below average
77012Houston 16,2863,745 5 2.8 43% Far below average
77345Kingwood 27,9172,821 8 2.7 43% Far below average
77336Huffman 14,3421,093 4 2.7 42% Far below average
77547Galena Park 9,2173,973 3 2.7 42% Far below average
77054Houston 28,27226,125 11 2.7 42% Far below average
77060Houston 45,34023,566 15 2.6 41% Far below average
77502Pasadena 36,3715,461 10 2.6 40% Far below average
77067Houston 30,49110,501 9 2.5 39% Far below average
77396Humble 61,73511,110 16 2.4 37% Far below average
77447Hockley 25,2313,161 6 2.2 35% Far below average
77085Houston 16,5133,262 4 2.2 35% Far below average
77093Houston 46,4078,075 11 2.2 34% Far below average
77530Channelview 31,52711,576 8 2.1 34% Far below average
77043Houston 29,04827,881 9 2.1 33% Far below average
77041Houston 33,34958,982 13 2.1 32% Far below average
77099Houston 50,06416,924 12 2.1 32% Far below average
77035Houston 36,0196,007 8 2.1 32% Far below average
77493Katy 71,48412,514 15 1.9 30% Far below average
77044Houston 58,3478,500 12 1.9 30% Far below average
77014Houston 36,1193,561 7 1.8 29% Far below average
77028Houston 19,1095,307 4 1.8 29% Far below average
77082Houston 59,41214,405 12 1.8 28% Far below average
77073Houston 46,08419,016 10 1.8 28% Far below average
77026Houston 21,9815,868 4 1.6 25% Far below average
77071Houston 27,0563,660 4 1.4 22% Far below average
77030Houston 13,380105,516 9 1.4 21% Far below average
77038Houston 32,63712,347 5 1.3 20% Far below average
77091Houston 28,7284,818 4 1.3 20% Far below average
77066Houston 39,31110,036 5 1.1 18% Far below average
77045Houston 33,5635,319 4 1.1 17% Far below average
77506Pasadena 35,1147,276 4 1.0 16% Far below average
77088Houston 57,0472,475 6 1.0 16% Far below average
77047Houston 34,9878,514 4 1.0 16% Far below average
77001Houston —2,821 0–2 — — Not published
77013Houston 18,2594,287 0–2 — — Not published
77016Houston 29,8412,651 0–2 — — Not published
77021Houston 26,1538,079 0–2 — — Not published
77033Houston 29,1545,899 0–2 — — Not published
77046Houston 1,79318,455 0–2 — — Not published
77048Houston 21,1512,696 0–2 — — Not published
77050Houston 6,5661,115 0–2 — — Not published
77051Houston 19,7953,791 0–2 — — Not published
77052Houston —107 0–2 — — Not published
77078Houston 14,2472,572 0–2 — — Not published
77201Houston —43 0–2 — — Not published
77204Houston 4,579942 0–2 — — Not published
77205Houston —104 0–2 — — Not published
77206Houston —14 0–2 — — Not published
77207Houston —24 0–2 — — Not published
77208Houston —35 0–2 — — Not published
77210Houston —2,546 0–2 — — Not published
77213Houston —3 0–2 — — Not published
77215Houston —5 0–2 — — Not published
77218Houston —65 0–2 — — Not published
77219Houston —77 0–2 — — Not published
77220Houston —125 0–2 — — Not published
77221Houston —88 0–2 — — Not published
77223Houston —19 0–2 — — Not published
77224Houston —77 0–2 — — Not published
77225Houston —19 0–2 — — Not published
77226Houston —12 0–2 — — Not published
77227Houston —502 0–2 — — Not published
77229Houston —24 0–2 — — Not published
77230Houston —7 0–2 — — Not published
77231Houston —4 0–2 — — Not published
77233Houston —8 0–2 — — Not published
77234Houston —18 0–2 — — Not published
77235Houston —51 0–2 — — Not published
77236Houston —130 0–2 — — Not published
77240Houston —44 0–2 — — Not published
77241Houston —65 0–2 — — Not published
77242Houston —115 0–2 — — Not published
77243Houston —5 0–2 — — Not published
77244Houston —85 4 — — Not published
77245Houston —63 0–2 — — Not published
77248Houston —41 0–2 — — Not published
77249Houston —62 0–2 — — Not published
77251Houston —958 0–2 — — Not published
77252Houston —923 0–2 — — Not published
77253Houston —725 0–2 — — Not published
77254Houston —50 0–2 — — Not published
77255Houston —220 0–2 — — Not published
77256Houston —76 0–2 — — Not published
77257Houston —67 0–2 — — Not published
77258Houston —11 0–2 — — Not published
77262Houston —65 0–2 — — Not published
77263Houston —14 0–2 — — Not published
77265Houston —346 0–2 — — Not published
77266Houston —26 0–2 — — Not published
77267Houston —85 0–2 — — Not published
77268Houston —26 0–2 — — Not published
77269Houston —107 0–2 — — Not published
77270Houston —26 0–2 — — Not published
77271Houston —26 0–2 — — Not published
77272Houston —19 0–2 — — Not published
77273Houston —32 0–2 — — Not published
77274Houston —24 0–2 — — Not published
77275Houston —88 0–2 — — Not published
77277Houston —45 0–2 — — Not published
77279Houston —12 0–2 — — Not published
77280Houston —48 0–2 — — Not published
77282Houston —13 0–2 — — Not published
77284Houston —28 0–2 — — Not published
77287Houston —61 0–2 — — Not published
77288Houston —14 0–2 — — Not published
77289Houston —247 0–2 — — Not published
77290Houston —36 0–2 — — Not published
77292Houston —24 0–2 — — Not published
77293Houston —47 0–2 — — Not published
77325Kingwood —88 0–2 — — Not published
77347Humble —197 0–2 — — Not published
77383Spring —174 0–2 — — Not published
77391Spring —65 0–2 — — Not published
77402Bellaire —78 0–2 — — Not published
77410Cypress —642 0–2 — — Not published
77411Alief —21 0–2 — — Not published
77413Barker —60 0–2 — — Not published
77491Katy —14 0–2 — — Not published
77492Katy —264 0–2 — — Not published
77501Pasadena —671 0–2 — — Not published
77507Pasadena 56711,030 0–2 — — Not published
77508Pasadena —76 0–2 — — Not published
77522Baytown —2,116 0–2 — — Not published
77572La Porte —571 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Houston

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
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Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Harris County and restaurants

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

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Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 722511 — full-service restaurants. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. BLS QCEW (quarterly) is newer than ZBP — 2026 Q1 shows 3,522 establishments county-wide for this industry. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (6.39 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

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.