Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Alabama

Sit-down restaurants in Walker County, AL

How Walker 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 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,309 of 2,405 scored counties
#34 of 64 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
109
46 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
32
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$80M
On food away from home · $3,152 a household
Spending per listing
$734K
11% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
42.9
30% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
65,140
0.0% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Walker 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 Walker 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 109 sit-down restaurants in Walker County. Chain locations make up 42% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 42.9 per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Walker County comes to about $80M a year: $3,152 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. Spread across 109 sit-down restaurants, that is $734K per restaurant, 11% above 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Walker County was 32 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 793 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Walker County held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Walker County scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #1,309 of 2,405 scored counties and #34 of 64 scored counties in Alabama.

How Walker 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 Walker County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureWalker CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households42.953.161.3
Spending per listing$734K$663K$664K
Households per official establishment793721500
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%−2.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,152$3,519$4,070
Median household income$56,509$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score4752

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
32 → 320.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
635
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10946 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
121The 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 full-service restaurants in Walker 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 Walker County

Population, 2025 estimate
65,1400.0% since 2020
Households
25,388
Median age
41.9
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
791 sq. mi.
People per square mile
82
Median household income
$56,509+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$70,976
Median home value
$135,900
Jobs located here
18,440
Daytime population
55,921Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Walker 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 Walker 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 Walker 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
34Walker County, AL4710942.9$734K0.0%#1,309 of 2,405

Other business types in Walker County

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

Questions

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

Walker County has 109 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 46 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $80M a year, or $3,152 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 109 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $734K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 25,388 households in Walker County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Walker County has 42.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $734K, 11% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Walker County would have about 121, against 109 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 793 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Walker County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Walker County at 65,140 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 25,388 households. The median household income in Walker County is $56,509 a year, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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. Walker County scores 47 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,309 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Walker 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 Walker County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Walker 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 Walker 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.