Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · California

Sit-down restaurants in the Susanville, CA area

How the Susanville, 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 #98 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California

Listings
33
10 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$32.3M
On food away from home · $3,497 a household
Spending per listing
$980K
48% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
35.7
42% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
28,117
−13.1% since 2020

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

Households in the Susanville area spend about $32.3M a year on food away from home, or $3,497 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $980K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 48% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 33 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Susanville area as of September 2026. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 30%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 35.7, 42% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Susanville area in 2023. That is one for every 771 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $75K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Susanville area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Susanville area declined 13.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Susanville area scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #98 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Susanville 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 Susanville, CA area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSusanville areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households35.773.961.3
Spending per listing$980K$617K$664K
Households per official establishment771432500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−1.9%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−13.1%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,497$4,559$4,070
Median household income$67,403$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6634

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
119
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3310 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
49The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$75K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
28,117−13.1% since 2020
Households
9,247
Median age
40.4
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
4,541 sq. mi.
People per square mile
7
Median household income
$67,403+19.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,989
Median home value
$265,300
Jobs located here
7,005
Daytime population
30,176Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Susanville 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 Susanville 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 Susanville 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 Susanville, CA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 33 sit-down restaurants in the Susanville area. 10 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $32.3M a year, or $3,497 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $980K 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 9,247 households in the Susanville area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Susanville area has 35.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 42% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $980K, 48% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Susanville area would have about 49, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 771 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is the Susanville, CA area growing?

Population estimates put the Susanville area at 28,117 people in 2025, down 13.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,247 households. Median household income in the Susanville area is $67,403, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.6%, 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. 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 Susanville area scores 66 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #98 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 Susanville 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 Susanville area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Susanville 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.