{
  "name": "Nashville Restaurant Profit Margin Benchmarks",
  "description": "Gross margin, net margin, cost-share, labor, and market-size benchmarks for independent restaurants in Nashville, Tennessee. Ranges are planning benchmarks for owner-operated businesses, not forecasts.",
  "version": "2026 city benchmark edition",
  "city": "Nashville",
  "state": "Tennessee",
  "industry": "Restaurant",
  "reviewStatus": "screening",
  "coverage": "Independent restaurant operators in Nashville, Tennessee; national chains, franchise groups, and multi-unit operators excluded unless noted",
  "dataCompiledAt": "2026-06-22",
  "sourcesVerifiedAt": "2026-09-27",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "sourcePage": "https://hustlefin.com/benchmarks/restaurant/city/nashville/",
  "citation": "HustleFin (2026). Nashville Restaurant Profit Margin Benchmarks. Retrieved from https://hustlefin.com/benchmarks/restaurant/city/nashville/",
  "metrics": [
    {
      "key": "gross_margin_pct",
      "label": "Gross margin",
      "unit": "percent",
      "low": 60,
      "average": 67,
      "high": 72
    },
    {
      "key": "net_margin_pct",
      "label": "Net margin",
      "unit": "percent",
      "low": 2,
      "average": 6,
      "high": 8
    },
    {
      "key": "labor_cost_pct",
      "label": "Labor cost (% of revenue)",
      "unit": "percent",
      "low": 24,
      "average": 29,
      "high": 33
    },
    {
      "key": "rent_cost_pct",
      "label": "Rent (% of revenue)",
      "unit": "percent",
      "low": 4,
      "average": 7,
      "high": 10
    },
    {
      "key": "typical_revenue",
      "label": "Typical revenue",
      "unit": "text",
      "value": "$300,000 – $8,000,000/year for independent Nashville restaurants (Broadway locations at the high end)"
    }
  ],
  "labor": {
    "minimumWage": "$7.25/hr (federal)",
    "stateMinimumWage": "$7.25/hr (Tennessee follows federal)",
    "tippedWage": "$2.13/hr + tips",
    "note": "Lowest labor costs in the pilot. Market wages ($16–20/hr kitchen, $25–35/hr tipped with tips) are well above legal minimum due to 3.1% unemployment and tourism-driven demand."
  },
  "market": [
    {
      "label": "Estimated restaurants",
      "value": 2700
    },
    {
      "label": "Commercial rent range",
      "value": "$18–25/sqft (East Nashville/Germantown), $35–50/sqft (Lower Broadway)"
    },
    {
      "label": "Sales tax on food",
      "value": "9.25% on prepared food (7% state + 2.25% Davidson County)"
    },
    {
      "label": "Special fees",
      "value": "15% liquor-by-the-drink tax; ASCAP/BMI/SESAC music licenses $1,200–$6,000/year combined"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns",
      "url": "https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html",
      "note": "Establishment counts and payroll by industry and geography. Source of the estimated business counts on this page."
    },
    {
      "label": "Tennessee Department of Revenue",
      "url": "https://www.tn.gov/",
      "note": "State sales tax and local option rates (department pages reachable from the state portal)."
    },
    {
      "label": "Texas Workforce Commission",
      "url": "https://www.twc.texas.gov/",
      "note": "State wage regulations and the Texas minimum wage."
    },
    {
      "label": "BLS OEWS — Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN",
      "url": "https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_34980.htm",
      "note": "Metropolitan-area occupational wage estimates from the BLS OEWS program."
    },
    {
      "label": "National Restaurant Association — Research",
      "url": "https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/",
      "note": "Industry operations data and cost-structure research for US restaurants."
    },
    {
      "label": "Metro Nashville",
      "url": "https://www.nashville.gov/",
      "note": "Metro permits, beer permits, and local tax context."
    }
  ]
}