Groundwork

Food and drink · County · California

Sit-down restaurants in Mono County, CA

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Mono County, CA, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 19 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,338 of 2,405 scored counties
#54 of 55 scored counties in California

Listings
89
8 chain locations (9%)
Official establishments
34
−12.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$25.6M
On food away from home · $4,451 a household
Spending per listing
$287K
57% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
154.9
2.5 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
12,505
−5.4% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Mono 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 Mono 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, Mono County has a Groundwork market score of 19 (low): #2,338 of 2,405 scored counties and #54 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $4,451 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in Mono County spend about $25.6M a year on food away from home. Spread across 89 sit-down restaurants, that is $287K per restaurant, 57% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Mono County has 89 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 154.9 per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 34 businesses with payroll in Mono County classed as full-service restaurants, down 12.8% from 2019. That is one for every 169 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $486K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Mono County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Mono County declined 5.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Mono 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 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 Mono County, CA compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureMono CountyCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households154.973.961.3
Spending per listing$287K$617K$664K
Households per official establishment169432500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−12.8%−1.9%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−5.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,451$4,559$4,070
Median household income$99,415$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score1934

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
39 → 34−12.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
671
Annual payroll, 2023
$21.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
898 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
39The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$486K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
12,505−5.4% since 2020
Households
5,744
Median age
43.4
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
3,049 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4
Median household income
$99,415+59.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$123,063
Median home value
$639,400
Jobs located here
8,322
Daytime population
14,737Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Mono 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 Mono 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 California

Every California market ranked →

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

Top counties in California

Counties in California ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuba County, CA8610135.3$1.1M+8.2%#55 of 2,405
2San Benito County, CA7211355.0$891K+8.6%#326 of 2,405
3San Joaquin County, CA691,32153.9$797K+5.5%#413 of 2,405
4Riverside County, CA644,47657.7$748K+5.0%#582 of 2,405
5Madera County, CA6424754.4$705K+7.4%#590 of 2,405
6Merced County, CA6340647.2$750K+5.1%#636 of 2,405
7Contra Costa County, CA622,36857.1$906K+0.3%#652 of 2,405
8Placer County, CA601,05766.9$734K+8.9%#758 of 2,405
9Solano County, CA5987155.3$816K+0.6%#777 of 2,405
10Lassen County, CA583335.7$980K−13.1%#800 of 2,405
54Mono County, CA1989154.9$287K−5.4%#2,338 of 2,405

Other business types in Mono County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Mono County, CA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 89 sit-down restaurants in Mono County. 8 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 34 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 12.8% from 2019. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Mono County, CA spend on food away from home?

About $25.6M a year, or $4,451 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 89 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $287K 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 5,744 households in Mono County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Mono County has 154.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $287K, 57% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Mono County would have about 39, against 89 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 169 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Mono County, CA growing?

Population estimates put Mono County at 12,505 people in 2025, down 5.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,744 households. Median household income in Mono County is $99,415, 23% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 59.7%, 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. Mono County scores 19 for sit-down restaurants (low), #2,338 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mono 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 Mono 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.