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Hawaii ranks 3rd in dining-out spending per person and 22nd per food-service shop. That is the point of this table. USDA ERS already maps food-away-from-home sales per capita; dividing the same dollars by the federal count of payroll food-service establishments rearranges the ranking.
Across 50 states and D.C., ERS records $1.28 trillion in 2024 dining-out sales
on 714,088 private NAICS 722 shops — about
$1,791,565 per shop. Nevada ranks first at
$2,662,418. Idaho ranks last at
$1,187,434, a 2.24-to-1 spread. The median state
is Indiana at $1,655,423.
Arizona climbs from 13th per person to 3rd per shop. New Mexico climbs from 26th to 7th. Oregon falls from 27th per person to 49th per shop. The dollars did not move; the shop base did.
Dining-out dollars per payroll food-service shop, 2024
Ranked by $ per shop, highest first. State names link to that state’s food-truck guide. NAICS 722 is all food services and drinking places, not food trucks alone.
| Rank | State | $ per shop | Per-capita rank | Dining-out sales ($ millions) | Food-service shops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | $2,662,418 | 2 | $18,684.85 | 7,018 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $2,305,191 | 1 | $6,164.08 | 2,674 |
| 3 | Arizona | $2,303,225 | 13 | $28,728.12 | 12,473 |
| 4 | California | $2,124,924 | 4 | $183,334.20 | 86,278 |
| 5 | Texas | $2,103,403 | 12 | $121,988.94 | 57,996 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $2,045,594 | 5 | $30,943.70 | 15,127 |
| 7 | New Mexico | $2,004,080 | 26 | $7,328.92 | 3,657 |
| 8 | Maryland | $1,936,507 | 19 | $22,877.89 | 11,814 |
| 9 | Colorado | $1,922,278 | 7 | $25,251.04 | 13,136 |
| 10 | Florida | $1,918,316 | 10 | $93,786.49 | 48,890 |
| 11 | Washington | $1,843,089 | 11 | $30,967.58 | 16,802 |
| 12 | Tennessee | $1,842,996 | 17 | $26,775.05 | 14,528 |
| 13 | Virginia | $1,811,247 | 23 | $31,001.30 | 17,116 |
| 14 | Georgia | $1,794,381 | 14 | $42,383.28 | 23,620 |
| 15 | South Carolina | $1,786,762 | 15 | $20,547.76 | 11,500 |
| 16 | Illinois | $1,774,034 | 16 | $47,458.95 | 26,752 |
| 17 | Utah | $1,771,489 | 34 | $11,162.15 | 6,301 |
| 18 | New Jersey | $1,727,796 | 18 | $35,074.25 | 20,300 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $1,713,478 | 28 | $19,338.31 | 11,286 |
| 20 | Michigan | $1,686,983 | 43 | $31,015.18 | 18,385 |
| 21 | New Hampshire | $1,680,786 | 9 | $5,733.16 | 3,411 |
| 22 | Hawaii | $1,673,406 | 3 | $7,630.73 | 4,560 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $1,670,909 | 21 | $39,513.66 | 23,648 |
| 24 | New York | $1,665,935 | 6 | $84,877.72 | 50,949 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | $1,662,178 | 40 | $12,815.39 | 7,710 |
| 26 | Indiana | $1,655,423 | 37 | $21,889.66 | 13,223 |
| 27 | Kansas | $1,649,933 | 42 | $9,178.58 | 5,563 |
| 28 | Missouri | $1,620,500 | 33 | $19,966.18 | 12,321 |
| 29 | Alabama | $1,615,086 | 38 | $16,289.76 | 10,086 |
| 30 | Kentucky | $1,613,924 | 39 | $14,399.43 | 8,922 |
| 31 | Arkansas | $1,612,333 | 46 | $9,398.29 | 5,829 |
| 32 | Delaware | $1,568,898 | 22 | $3,715.15 | 2,368 |
| 33 | Nebraska | $1,542,422 | 29 | $6,666.35 | 4,322 |
| 34 | Ohio | $1,541,500 | 32 | $38,381.82 | 24,899 |
| 35 | Mississippi | $1,515,790 | 45 | $8,987.12 | 5,929 |
| 36 | Pennsylvania | $1,500,595 | 44 | $39,780.78 | 26,510 |
| 37 | Alaska | $1,499,265 | 35 | $2,346.35 | 1,565 |
| 38 | Rhode Island | $1,484,503 | 8 | $4,566.33 | 3,076 |
| 39 | Connecticut | $1,464,574 | 20 | $13,320.30 | 9,095 |
| 40 | Vermont | $1,454,803 | 30 | $2,138.56 | 1,470 |
| 41 | Maine | $1,416,436 | 25 | $4,881.04 | 3,446 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $1,403,683 | 24 | $16,024.44 | 11,416 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $1,399,821 | 47 | $2,812.24 | 2,009 |
| 44 | Iowa | $1,382,120 | 49 | $9,063.94 | 6,558 |
| 45 | North Dakota | $1,354,367 | 41 | $2,471.72 | 1,825 |
| 46 | West Virginia | $1,346,804 | 51 | $4,647.82 | 3,451 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $1,330,599 | 36 | $1,866.83 | 1,403 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $1,290,404 | 48 | $17,247.54 | 13,366 |
| 49 | Oregon | $1,245,599 | 27 | $14,584.72 | 11,709 |
| 50 | Montana | $1,210,241 | 31 | $3,717.86 | 3,072 |
| 51 | Idaho | $1,187,434 | 50 | $5,609.44 | 4,724 |
How to read this — and how not to
- This is not average restaurant revenue. ERS food-away-from-home sales include restaurants plus hotels, schools, recreation, and other outlets. QCEW NAICS 722 counts payroll restaurants, drinking places, caterers, and mobile food. The ratio assigns all dining-out dollars to those payroll shops.
- Taxes and tips are in the numerator. The ERS file is “with taxes and tips, for all purchasers,” nominal 2024 dollars, from the June 1, 2026 State Food Expenditure Series. Use that CSV, not older Amber Waves prose: the June 2026 revision benchmarked state totals to the Economic Census and the published per-capita figures moved.
- QCEW counts payroll establishments only. Nonemployer food businesses are not in the denominator. Annual average establishments, ownership code 5 (private), state totals.
- Tourists and commuters spend in the numerator and do not live in the per-capita denominator. That is why D.C. and Nevada rank high per person. Per shop asks a different question: how many dining-out dollars sit on each shop.
- Do not read the food-truck pages as if this were truck revenue. A state with few mobile-food shops and large restaurant dining-out sales will look extreme if you divide FAFH by truck counts. This table uses NAICS 722 on purpose.
- Industry groups publish sales and location counts too. Those are different series. This page divides two federal files from the same year.
For wage costs in the same kitchens, see service business wages by state (BLS cooks column). For the permit stack, see food truck permits by state.
Frequently asked questions
Which states have the most dining-out dollars per food-service shop?
In 2024, Nevada ranks first at $2,662,418 per payroll food-service establishment, followed by the District of Columbia ($2,305,191) and Arizona ($2,303,225). Idaho ranks last at $1,187,434. The 51-jurisdiction average is about $1,791,565.
Why isn’t Hawaii at the top?
Hawaii ranks 3rd in food-away-from-home sales per person ($5,318) and 22nd per shop ($1,673,406). It has a lot of dining-out spending and a dense shop base, so the dollars are spread across more establishments. Arizona is the reverse: 13th per person and 3rd per shop.
Is this average restaurant revenue?
No. The numerator is USDA ERS food-away-from-home sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers — restaurants plus hotels, schools, recreation, and other outlets. The denominator is BLS QCEW private establishments in NAICS 722 (restaurants, drinking places, caterers, and mobile food), payroll shops only. The ratio is dining-out dollars sitting on each payroll food-service shop, not a typical restaurant’s books.
What is food away from home?
ERS defines food away from home as prepared meals and snacks for immediate consumption. The state series used here is sales only: it excludes food furnished, donated, or produced at home. Figures include sales taxes and tips and are nominal 2024 dollars from the June 1, 2026 State Food Expenditure Series.
How often is this updated?
ERS publishes state food-expenditure estimates each June. QCEW annual establishment counts follow the calendar year and are posted the following year. This page joins 2024 to 2024. Rebuild when ERS posts a new state vintage or when BLS posts a new annual QCEW file.
Sources
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| USDA ERS State Food Expenditure Series — sales with taxes and tips | 2024 food-away-from-home sales in millions of nominal dollars, all purchasers, 50 states and D.C. File dated June 1, 2026. The $ per shop column divides this sales figure by the QCEW shop count on the same row. |
| USDA ERS State Food Expenditure Series — per capita sales with taxes and tips | 2024 food-away-from-home sales per person, same vintage, used only for the per-capita rank column. |
| USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series product page | Series definitions, FAH vs FAFH, release schedule. |
| USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series documentation | Coverage, exclusions (furnished, donated, home produced), taxes-and-tips valuation. |
| USDA ERS update and revision history | June 2026 Economic Census benchmark, AIES incorporation, 2025-dollar rebase. |
| BLS QCEW Open Data — 2024 annual, NAICS 722 | Private (ownership code 5) annual average establishments by state for Food Services and Drinking Places. |
| BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages | Program documentation for QCEW establishment counts. |
Refresh: ERS state estimates each June; QCEW annual files the following year. Rebuild this page from those two vintages. Do not mix a new ERS year with an old QCEW year without labeling the mismatch.