Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Alabama

Sit-down restaurants in Butler County, AL

How Butler County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,197 of 2,405 scored counties
#63 of 64 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
39
16 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$22.1M
On food away from home · $2,914 a household
Spending per listing
$568K
14% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
51.3
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
18,100
−4.8% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Butler County

The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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 Butler County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For sit-down restaurants, Butler County has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #2,197 of 2,405 scored counties and #63 of 64 scored counties in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

As of September 2026, map listings count 39 sit-down restaurants in Butler County. 16 of them (41%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 51.3 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $2,914 per household (28% below the U.S. average), households in Butler County spend about $22.1M a year on food away from home. That is about $568K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 14% below the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 11 businesses with payroll in Butler County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 691 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Butler County. Population estimates put the population change in Butler County from 2020 to 2025 at −4.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Butler County compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the sit-down restaurants counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Sit-down restaurants in Butler County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureButler CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households51.353.161.3
Spending per listing$568K$663K$664K
Households per official establishment691721500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.8%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,914$3,519$4,070
Median household income$44,755$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score2552

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10 → 11
Employees, 2023
295
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3916 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
33The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$1.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Butler 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 Butler County

Population, 2025 estimate
18,100−4.8% since 2020
Households
7,597
Median age
43.6
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
777 sq. mi.
People per square mile
24
Median household income
$44,755+10.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$68,109
Median home value
$99,800
Jobs located here
6,659
Daytime population
17,147Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Butler 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 sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Butler County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Sit-down restaurants across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Butler County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Limestone County, AL9114134.4$1.2M+18.0%#18 of 2,405
2Cleburne County, AL791118.4$1.7M+6.0%#134 of 2,405
3Shelby County, AL7745151.9$853K+6.5%#202 of 2,405
4Autauga County, AL749240.1$936K+5.1%#278 of 2,405
5Blount County, AL707634.3$996K+1.8%#369 of 2,405
6St. Clair County, AL7017449.6$742K+7.1%#388 of 2,405
7Washington County, AL691728.5$1.2M−3.3%#393 of 2,405
8Cullman County, AL6914340.5$846K+6.7%#409 of 2,405
9Chilton County, AL697441.4$811K+5.9%#411 of 2,405
10Elmore County, AL6916048.7$769K+4.2%#415 of 2,405
63Butler County, AL253951.3$568K−4.8%#2,197 of 2,405

Other business types in Butler County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Butler County, AL?

Butler County has 39 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 16 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Butler County, AL spend on food away from home?

About $22.1M a year, or $2,914 per household. That is 28% below the U.S. average (an index of 72, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 39 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $568K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,597 households in Butler County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Butler County, AL compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Butler County has 51.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $568K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Butler County would have about 33, against 39 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 691 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Butler County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Butler County at 18,100 people in 2025, down 4.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,597 households. The median household income in Butler County is $44,755 a year, 45% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 10.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

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. Butler County scores 25 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #2,197 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Butler County. It maps the sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · All 56 business types in Butler County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Butler 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 Butler 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.