Full-service restaurants in California: 31,270 locations, -0.8% jobs
Official counts for full-service restaurants in California, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how California compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
California against the country · 2026 Q1
| California | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants with employees | 31,270 | 265,527 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 79.3 | 78.1 |
| Jobs | 593,188 | 5,242,690 |
| Jobs, year over year | -0.8% | -0.4% |
| Locations, year over year | +2.7% | +1.0% |
| Average weekly wage | $718 | $602 |
| Rank among states, density | 22 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 28 of 50 |
What the numbers say
California has 31,270 full-service restaurants with payroll, employing 593,188 people. At 79.3 per 100,000 residents the market is close to the national average, number 22 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs fell 0.8% over the year, against -0.4% nationally. Locations grew faster than jobs, which usually means more and smaller operators entering: the kind of market where the cheapest service gets crowded first.
Average pay at full-service restaurants in California is $718 a week, 19% above the national figure of $602. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of full-service restaurants in California moved +2.1%, from 30,140 to 30,785.
Full-service restaurants in California, annual average
- 202130,140
- 202230,212
- 202330,474
- 202430,454
- 202530,785
Jobs at full-service restaurants in California
- 2021506,307
- 2022601,439
- 2023613,866
- 2024607,236
- 2025600,030
What counts as full-service restaurants here
Restaurants where customers order and are served at a table and pay after eating. Fast-casual counters and takeout are counted under quick-service. The code is NAICS 722511. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in California
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the full-service restaurants within reach of one address in California, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many full-service restaurants are there in California?
BLS counted 31,270 full-service restaurants with employees in California in 2026 Q1, employing 593,188 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 79.3 per 100,000 residents, against 78.1 nationally.
Are full-service restaurants growing in California?
Not at the moment. Jobs at full-service restaurants in California changed -0.8% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed +2.7%. That ranks California 28 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +2.1%.
Is California a crowded market for full-service restaurants?
California has 79.3 full-service restaurants per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, ranking 22 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Full-service restaurants in every state
Densest first. The number is full-service restaurants per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in California
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 722511, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in California · Growth ranking for California · Full-service restaurants by state