Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · California

Sit-down restaurants in the Clearlake, CA area

How the Clearlake, CA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #103 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California

Listings
111
23 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
39
−11.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$94.6M
On food away from home · $3,513 a household
Spending per listing
$853K
28% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
41.2
33% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
67,772
−0.6% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Clearlake area

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 the Clearlake area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

Household spending on food away from home in the Clearlake area comes to about $94.6M a year: $3,513 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $853K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 28% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 111 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Clearlake area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 21% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 41.2 for every 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 39 businesses with payroll in the Clearlake area classed as full-service restaurants, down 11.4% from 2019. That is one for every 691 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 9 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Clearlake area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Clearlake area declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Clearlake area is 66 (upper middle), #103 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Clearlake area 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 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 Clearlake, CA area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureClearlake areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households41.273.961.3
Spending per listing$853K$617K$664K
Households per official establishment691432500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−11.4%−1.9%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,513$4,559$4,070
Median household income$60,621$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6634

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
39−11.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
322
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
9Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
11123 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
143The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$50K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Clearlake area, 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 the Clearlake area

Population, 2025 estimate
67,772−0.6% since 2020
Households
26,940
Median age
44.9
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,255 sq. mi.
People per square mile
54
Median household income
$60,621+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,306
Median home value
$324,300
Jobs located here
15,936
Daytime population
61,990Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Clearlake area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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.

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Sit-down restaurants across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Clearlake area marked.

Top small-town markets in California

Small-town markets in California ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Susanville, CA663335.7$980K−13.1%#98 of 538
2Clearlake, CA6611141.2$853K−0.6%#103 of 538
3Truckee-Grass Valley, CA6419846.2$932K−0.4%#115 of 538
Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA5812758.4$738K+0.9%#185 of 538
4Red Bluff, CA5310341.6$846K−1.7%#229 of 538
5Sonora, CA4611450.2$779K−4.0%#309 of 538
6Crescent City, CA414951.5$697K−4.4%#360 of 538
7Ukiah, CA2821862.6$587K−3.5%#474 of 538
8Eureka-Arcata, CA2533460.8$576K−3.4%#496 of 538
9Bishop, CA246884.6$451K−4.4%#503 of 538

Other business types in the Clearlake area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Clearlake, CA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 111 sit-down restaurants in the Clearlake area. 23 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 11.4% from 2019. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Clearlake, CA area spend on food away from home?

About $94.6M a year, or $3,513 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 111 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $853K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,940 households in the Clearlake area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Clearlake, CA area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Clearlake area has 41.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $853K, 28% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Clearlake area would have about 143, against 111 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. The official count fell 11.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Clearlake, CA area growing?

Population estimates put the Clearlake area at 67,772 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 26,940 households. Median household income in the Clearlake area is $60,621, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.9%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Clearlake area scores 66 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #103 of 538 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Clearlake area. 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 the Clearlake area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Clearlake area?

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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.