Full-service restaurants in Rhode Island: 1,115 locations, -0.4% jobs
Official counts for full-service restaurants in Rhode Island, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how Rhode Island compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
Rhode Island against the country · 2026 Q1
| Rhode Island | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants with employees | 1,115 | 265,527 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 100.2 | 78.1 |
| Jobs | 20,794 | 5,242,690 |
| Jobs, year over year | -0.4% | -0.4% |
| Locations, year over year | -1.5% | +1.0% |
| Average weekly wage | $567 | $602 |
| Rank among states, density | 2 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 21 of 50 |
What the numbers say
Rhode Island has 1,115 full-service restaurants with payroll, employing 20,794 people. At 100.2 per 100,000 residents the market is denser than the country as a whole, number 2 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs fell 0.4% over the year, against -0.4% nationally.
Average pay at full-service restaurants in Rhode Island is $567 a week, 6% below 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 Rhode Island moved -5.0%, from 1,180 to 1,121.
Full-service restaurants in Rhode Island, annual average
- 20211,180
- 20221,172
- 20231,164
- 20241,150
- 20251,121
Jobs at full-service restaurants in Rhode Island
- 202119,344
- 202221,865
- 202322,806
- 202422,824
- 202522,552
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 Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island?
BLS counted 1,115 full-service restaurants with employees in Rhode Island in 2026 Q1, employing 20,794 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 100.2 per 100,000 residents, against 78.1 nationally.
Are full-service restaurants growing in Rhode Island?
Not at the moment. Jobs at full-service restaurants in Rhode Island changed -0.4% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed -1.5%. That ranks Rhode Island 21 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved -5.0%.
Is Rhode Island a crowded market for full-service restaurants?
Rhode Island has 100.2 full-service restaurants per 100,000 residents, denser than the country as a whole, ranking 2 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 Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island · Growth ranking for Rhode Island · Full-service restaurants by state