Food and drink · County · California
Restaurants and cafes in Sierra County, CA
How Sierra County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 21
- 1 chain location (5%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.3M
- On food away from home · $3,491 a household
- Spending per listing
- $203K
- 45% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 172.3
- 57% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,098
- −4.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Sierra County
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Sierra County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $3,491 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in Sierra County spend about $4.3M a year on food away from home. Spread across 21 restaurants and cafes, that is $203K per restaurant, 45% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Sierra County has 21 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (5%) is a chain location, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 172.3 for every 10,000 households, 57% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 10 businesses with payroll in Sierra County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 122 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
Population estimates show Sierra County declined 4.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Sierra County compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Sierra County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 172.3 | 128.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $203K | $355K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 122 | 170 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,491 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,355 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9 → 10
- Employees, 2023
- 35
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 211 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Sierra County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Sierra County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,098−4.0% since 2020
- Households
- 1,219
- Median age
- 54.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 953 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3
- Median household income
- $63,355
- Average household income
- $81,457
- Median home value
- $331,900
- Jobs located here
- 532
- Daytime population
- 2,187Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Sierra County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Sierra County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in California, with Sierra County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba County, CA | 86 | 179 | 62.5 | $606K | +8.2% | #52 of 2,405 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 70 | 209 | 101.6 | $482K | +8.6% | #405 of 2,405 |
| 3Contra Costa County, CA | 64 | 3,869 | 93.4 | $555K | +0.3% | #585 of 2,405 |
| 4San Joaquin County, CA | 62 | 2,489 | 101.5 | $423K | +5.5% | #685 of 2,405 |
| 5Merced County, CA | 60 | 729 | 84.7 | $418K | +5.1% | #766 of 2,405 |
| 6Placer County, CA | 60 | 1,914 | 121.2 | $405K | +8.9% | #769 of 2,405 |
| 7Solano County, CA | 59 | 1,544 | 98.0 | $460K | +0.6% | #791 of 2,405 |
| 8Riverside County, CA | 59 | 7,943 | 102.4 | $422K | +5.0% | #802 of 2,405 |
| 9Madera County, CA | 58 | 450 | 99.2 | $387K | +7.4% | #849 of 2,405 |
| 10Lassen County, CA | 56 | 67 | 72.5 | $483K | −13.1% | #903 of 2,405 |
| Sierra County, CA | Not scored | 21 | 172.3 | $203K | −4.0% |
Other business types in Sierra County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many restaurants and cafes are in Sierra County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 restaurants and cafes in Sierra County. One of them (5%) is a chain location. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.
How much do households in Sierra County, CA spend on food away from home?
About $4.3M a year, or $3,491 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $203K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,219 households in Sierra County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Sierra County, CA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Sierra County has 172.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 57% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $203K, 45% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Sierra County would have about 12, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 122 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Sierra County, CA growing?
Population estimates put Sierra County at 3,098 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,219 households. Median household income in Sierra County is $63,355, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Sierra County. It maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in Sierra County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Sierra County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Sierra County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.