Food and drink · Small-town market · California
Sit-down restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area
The sit-down restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #496 of 538 scored small-town markets
#8 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 334
- 67 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 145
- −0.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $192.4M
- On food away from home · $3,504 a household
- Spending per listing
- $576K
- 13% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 60.8
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 131,647
- −3.4% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area. 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
For sit-down restaurants, the Eureka-Arcata area has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #496 of 538 scored small-town markets and #8 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
As of September 2026, map listings count 334 sit-down restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata area. Chain locations make up 20% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 60.8 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Eureka-Arcata area comes to about $192.4M a year: $3,504 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $576K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 13% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata area was 145 in 2023, down 0.7% from 2019. That is one for every 379 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata area. Population estimates show the Eureka-Arcata area declined 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Eureka-Arcata 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.
| Measure | Eureka-Arcata area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 60.8 | 73.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $576K | $617K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 379 | 432 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −0.7% | −1.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,504 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $61,160 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 145−0.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,863
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $47.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 23Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 33467 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 290The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $1.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 131,647−3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 54,922
- Median age
- 40.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,568 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 38
- Median household income
- $61,160+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,194
- Median home value
- $446,900
- Jobs located here
- 48,178
- Daytime population
- 133,286Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Eureka-Arcata 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.
Or open the report at the center of the Eureka-Arcata area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-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 Eureka-Arcata area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Susanville, CA | 66 | 33 | 35.7 | $980K | −13.1% | #98 of 538 |
| 2Clearlake, CA | 66 | 111 | 41.2 | $853K | −0.6% | #103 of 538 |
| 3Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 64 | 198 | 46.2 | $932K | −0.4% | #115 of 538 |
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 58 | 127 | 58.4 | $738K | +0.9% | #185 of 538 |
| 4Red Bluff, CA | 53 | 103 | 41.6 | $846K | −1.7% | #229 of 538 |
| 5Sonora, CA | 46 | 114 | 50.2 | $779K | −4.0% | #309 of 538 |
| 6Crescent City, CA | 41 | 49 | 51.5 | $697K | −4.4% | #360 of 538 |
| 7Ukiah, CA | 28 | 218 | 62.6 | $587K | −3.5% | #474 of 538 |
| 8Eureka-Arcata, CA | 25 | 334 | 60.8 | $576K | −3.4% | #496 of 538 |
| 9Bishop, CA | 24 | 68 | 84.6 | $451K | −4.4% | #503 of 538 |
Other business types in the Eureka-Arcata area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes24
- Sit-down restaurants25
- Fast food and sandwich shops60
- Pizza46
- Coffee shops and cafes21
- Bakeries and dessert shops28
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 sit-down restaurants are in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area?
The Eureka-Arcata area has 334 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 67 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 145 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 0.7% from 2019. Another 23 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area spend on food away from home?
About $192.4M a year, or $3,504 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 334 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $576K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 54,922 households in the Eureka-Arcata area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Eureka-Arcata, CA area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Eureka-Arcata area has 60.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $576K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Eureka-Arcata area would have about 290, against 334 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 379 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Eureka-Arcata, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Eureka-Arcata area at 131,647 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 54,922 households. The median household income in the Eureka-Arcata area is $61,160 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.3% 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. 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 Eureka-Arcata area scores 25 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #496 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 Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Eureka-Arcata area?
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 the Eureka-Arcata area. 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.