Washington, D.C. ranked third among the top 50 best cities to start a restaurant, according to the online marketplace Bid-On-Equipment’s list.
The rankings assessed where restaurateurs can get the best return on their investment. Four key factors were analyzed across 236 cities in order to reach the results. The criteria consisted of annual restaurant sales per capita, restaurants per capita, number of restaurant industry workers per capita, and median income in each city. In the end, the list was narrowed down to top 50 cities.
Coming third, Washington, D.C. got a sales ranking per capita of $3,622, restaurants per capita of 292, industry workers per capita of 5,867, and a median income of $117, 614.
“When it comes to finding an ideal location to start a restaurant, it’s not all about sales. Factors like over-saturation, competition, and disposable income are all metrics to keep in mind when researching a market,” according to Bid-On-Equipment.
The D.C. area dominated the list as D.C. and Arlington ranked No. 3 and No. 1 respectively. Following D.C., San Francisco ranked within the top five, having the highest number of restaurants per capita. Other cities like Austin, Boston, Seattle, Nashville, and Denver made it to the list, as well.
Smaller cities like Chattanooga, Fort Collins and Raleigh also showed up in the list.
Data to determine restaurant sales, restaurants per capita and workforce were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, while median income data was collected from the American Community Survey.