Food and drink · County · California
Sit-down restaurants in San Luis Obispo County, CA
How San Luis Obispo County, CA 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 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,978 of 2,405 scored counties
#45 of 55 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 895
- 175 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 351
- +3.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $486.8M
- On food away from home · $4,446 a household
- Spending per listing
- $544K
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 81.7
- 33% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 282,367
- 0.0% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County. 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, San Luis Obispo County has a Groundwork market score of 32 (lower middle): #1,978 of 2,405 scored counties and #45 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on food away from home in San Luis Obispo County comes to about $486.8M a year: $4,446 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. That is about $544K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 18% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 895 sit-down restaurants on map listings in San Luis Obispo County as of September 2026. Of those, 175 are chain locations, or 20%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 81.7, 33% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 351 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in San Luis Obispo County in 2023, up 3.9% from 2019. That is one for every 312 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 18 SBA-backed loans worth $15.1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in San Luis Obispo County. Population estimates put the population change in San Luis Obispo County from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How San Luis Obispo 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.
| Measure | San Luis Obispo County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 81.7 | 73.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $544K | $617K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 312 | 432 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.9% | −1.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,446 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $97,446 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 338 → 351+3.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 6,653
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $205.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 49Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 895175 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 734The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 18
- Amount
- $15.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 282,3670.0% since 2020
- Households
- 109,503
- Median age
- 42.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,301 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 85
- Median household income
- $97,446+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $132,001
- Median home value
- $824,700
- Jobs located here
- 112,621
- Daytime population
- 276,085Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County. 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 counties in California for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in California, with San Luis Obispo County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba County, CA | 86 | 101 | 35.3 | $1.1M | +8.2% | #55 of 2,405 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 72 | 113 | 55.0 | $891K | +8.6% | #326 of 2,405 |
| 3San Joaquin County, CA | 69 | 1,321 | 53.9 | $797K | +5.5% | #413 of 2,405 |
| 4Riverside County, CA | 64 | 4,476 | 57.7 | $748K | +5.0% | #582 of 2,405 |
| 5Madera County, CA | 64 | 247 | 54.4 | $705K | +7.4% | #590 of 2,405 |
| 6Merced County, CA | 63 | 406 | 47.2 | $750K | +5.1% | #636 of 2,405 |
| 7Contra Costa County, CA | 62 | 2,368 | 57.1 | $906K | +0.3% | #652 of 2,405 |
| 8Placer County, CA | 60 | 1,057 | 66.9 | $734K | +8.9% | #758 of 2,405 |
| 9Solano County, CA | 59 | 871 | 55.3 | $816K | +0.6% | #777 of 2,405 |
| 10Lassen County, CA | 58 | 33 | 35.7 | $980K | −13.1% | #800 of 2,405 |
| 45San Luis Obispo County, CA | 32 | 895 | 81.7 | $544K | 0.0% | #1,978 of 2,405 |
Other business types in San Luis Obispo County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes27
- Sit-down restaurants32
- Fast food and sandwich shops50
- Pizza45
- Coffee shops and cafes29
- Bakeries and dessert shops30
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 San Luis Obispo County, CA?
As of September 2026, map listings count 895 sit-down restaurants in San Luis Obispo County. 175 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 351 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.9% from 2019. Official counts list 49 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in San Luis Obispo County, CA spend on food away from home?
About $486.8M a year, or $4,446 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 895 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $544K 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 109,503 households in San Luis Obispo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does San Luis Obispo County, CA compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
San Luis Obispo County has 81.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $544K, 18% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, San Luis Obispo County would have about 734, against 895 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 312 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is San Luis Obispo County, CA growing?
Population estimates put San Luis Obispo County at 282,367 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 109,503 households. Median household income in San Luis Obispo County is $97,446, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.6%, 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. San Luis Obispo County scores 32 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,978 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo 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.