The United States restaurant industry was projected at $899 billion in sales for 2020 by the National Restaurant Association, the main trade association for the industry in the United States.
[1][2] An estimated 99% of companies in the industry are family-owned small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
[3] The industry as a whole as of February 2020 employed more than 15 million people, representing 10% of the workforce directly.
[4][5] It indirectly employed close to another 10% when dependent businesses such as food producers, trucking, and delivery services were factored in, according to Ohio restaurateur Britney Ruby Miller.
[1] In Delaware and Massachusetts, one in ten workers is employed in the restaurant industry.