Report · Money and Finance

Most Americans expect to dine out about as much as before

Reading

Looking ahead to 2026, most Americans (63%) expect to visit sit-down restaurants about as often as they did the year before, according to a December 2025 Verasight survey.

Those expecting to go less often (17%) and more often (16%) are close to even, and 5% do not plan to dine out at all.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Most Americans expect to dine out about as much as before.

Compared to 2025, do you expect to do each of the following activities more or less in 2026? Item: Go to a sit-down restaurant

  • About the Same 62.5%
  • Less 16.5%
  • More 16.1%
  • I do not plan to do this activity 4.8%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.1%

predictions

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-12-22 → 2026-01-05
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.1%
Module
predictions

Source

Citation

2026 Predictions Survey #2025-183, fielded December 22, 2025-January 5, 2026, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.1%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-predictions

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.