Eating out behavior in the U.S. - statistics & facts

In the United States, eating food out at a restaurant or ordering it for takeout/delivery has become increasingly popular. For the ten years leading up to 2019, food and drink sales in the United States restaurant industry steadily increased and reached over 773 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Though this number fell in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, sales were still higher that year than in most of the twenty years prior. This general increase is unsurprising considering the average annual expenditure on eating out in U.S. households also increased over the last decade, with American households spending an average of over three and a half thousand dollars on food away from home in 2019. That being said, the in-house dining market took a huge hit during the pandemic, with the number of sit-down diners in the U.S. dropping by 100 percent in March 2020. This figure fluctuated throughout the remainder of 2020 and 2021 due to the changes in COVID-19 case numbers and regulations.

The rise of takeout and delivery in the U.S.

One key factor that contributed to the rise of eating out in the U.S. in recent years was the introduction of online food delivery services, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. Furthermore, many restaurants began to offer the option to place orders online, either through a restaurant’s website directly or with smartphone apps. The number of smartphone food delivery app users in the U.S. reached over 36 million in 2019, a figure that was forecast to grow. While some food service providers such as pizza restaurants have been offering delivery services for years, the introduction of food delivery service apps has allowed more restaurants to begin offering delivery as well. Among digital restaurant food orders in the U.S. in 2020, a majority were carry-out orders, while the remaining 38 percent were delivery orders. While the share of U.S. food service transactions initiated via an ordering app was six percent in 2019, this more than doubled in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to 15 percent.

Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on U.S. eating out behavior

During the pandemic, U.S. restaurants were unable to offer indoor dining for long periods of time and had to rely on takeout or delivery orders. The U.S. areas that accounted for most of the local restaurant orders placed online or via an app during the pandemic were suburban and urban areas. Meanwhile, rural areas accounted for the least online orders during the pandemic. Food service consumer spending in the U.S. fell dramatically in the first few weeks of the pandemic, dropping from a pre-pandemic spend of nearly 55 thousand U.S. dollars to around 33 thousand dollars in the first week of April in 2020. Despite this initial decrease in consumer spending on food services, U.S. customers were itching to return to eating out at restaurants. In a survey looking at the level of U.S. public excitement to eat out after COVID-19, the majority of respondents indicated that they were either very excited to eat out at a restaurant again or had already done so.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

U.S. food service and drinking place sales: 876.3bn USD

U.S. age group with the highest annual average household expenditure on food away from home: 45 to 54

Average annual food away from home expenditure among U.S. households with an income of over 200k USD: 5.2k USD

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Year-over-year daily change in seated restaurant diners due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States from February 24, 2020 to August 1, 2022

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Daily year-on-year impact of COVID-19 on U.S. restaurant dining 2020-2022

Average annual food away from home expenditures of United States households from 2010 to 2021 (in U.S. dollars)*

Food & Nutrition

Average annual food away from home expenditures of U.S. households 2010-2021

Foodservice and drinking place sales in the United States from 1992 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Food & Drink Services

Foodservice and drinking place sales in the U.S. 1992-2021

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Eating out

Premium Statistic Foodservice and drinking place sales in the U.S. 1992-2021
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Premium Statistic Average food away from home household expenditure in the U.S. 2021, by income
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Delivery and takeout

Premium Statistic Amount of smartphone food delivery app users in the U.S. 2019-2023
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Vegetarian and vegan dining

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Basic Statistic Opinion on restaurants providing vegetarian options in the U.S. 2019, by gender
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Impact of the coronavirus

Premium Statistic Daily year-on-year impact of COVID-19 on U.S. restaurant dining 2020-2022
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Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Eating out behavior in the U.S." and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

Growth of digital restaurant delivery orders in the U.S.
142%
Detailed statistics
Growth of digital restaurant food orders in the U.S. 2020-2021, by type
Share of takeout traffic in full service U.S. restaurants
38%
Detailed statistics
Carry-out traffic share in full service restaurants in the U.S. 2019-2020
Most popular food delivery service in Los Angeles
DoorDash
Detailed statistics
Sales share of top food delivery services in select U.S. cities 2021