Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Colorado

Sit-down restaurants in Douglas County, CO

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 88 out of 100: High

Ranked #38 of 2,405 scored counties
#2 of 37 scored counties in Colorado

Listings
607
257 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
209
+11.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$785M
On food away from home · $5,609 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
95% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
43.4
29% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
399,396
+10.9% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Douglas 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 Douglas County. 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

The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Douglas County is 88 (high), #38 of 2,405 scored counties and #2 of 37 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

Household spending on food away from home in Douglas County comes to about $785M a year: $5,609 per household, 38% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 95% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Douglas County has 607 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 42% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 43.4 per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Douglas County was 209 in 2023, up 11.2% from 2019. That is one for every 670 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 20 SBA-backed loans worth $18M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Douglas County. Population estimates show Douglas County grew 10.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Douglas County compares

The same measures for Colorado 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 Douglas County, CO compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureDouglas CountyColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households43.461.861.3
Spending per listing$1.3M$716K$664K
Households per official establishment670468500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+11.2%−1.7%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.9%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$5,609$4,421$4,070
Median household income$149,594$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market score8859

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
188 → 209+11.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,226
Annual payroll, 2023
$199.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
41Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
607257 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,183The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
20
Amount
$18M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
399,396+10.9% since 2020
Households
139,960
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
840 sq. mi.
People per square mile
449
Median household income
$149,594+24.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$183,544
Median home value
$713,600
Jobs located here
144,461
Daytime population
321,562Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Douglas 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 Douglas 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 Colorado

Every Colorado market ranked →

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

Top counties in Colorado

Counties in Colorado ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Elbert County, CO951717.0$3.1M+16.5%#3 of 2,405
2Douglas County, CO8860743.4$1.3M+10.9%#38 of 2,405
3Park County, CO863235.6$1.2M+5.1%#53 of 2,405
4Weld County, CO8650941.0$1.1M+14.2%#56 of 2,405
5Broomfield County, CO7716050.4$1M+6.3%#194 of 2,405
6Adams County, CO7797751.8$836K+6.6%#205 of 2,405
7Mesa County, CO6828743.6$859K+4.4%#437 of 2,405
8El Paso County, CO651,55653.6$794K+3.2%#540 of 2,405
9Larimer County, CO6484554.8$792K+4.8%#575 of 2,405
10Jefferson County, CO611,23451.0$936K−0.5%#696 of 2,405

Other business types in Douglas County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Douglas County, CO?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 607 sit-down restaurants in Douglas County. 257 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 209 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 11.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 41 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Douglas County, CO spend on food away from home?

About $785M a year, or $5,609 per household. That is 38% above the U.S. average (an index of 138, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 607 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.3M 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 139,960 households in Douglas County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Douglas County has 43.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.3M, 95% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Douglas County would have about 1,183, against 607 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 670 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Douglas County, CO growing?

Population estimates put Douglas County at 399,396 people in 2025, up 10.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 139,960 households. Median household income in Douglas County is $149,594, 85% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.9%, 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. 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. Douglas County scores 88 for sit-down restaurants (high), #38 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Douglas 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 Douglas 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.