Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Colorado

Sit-down restaurants in Garfield County, CO

How Garfield County, CO 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 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,904 of 2,405 scored counties
#23 of 37 scored counties in Colorado

Listings
197
35 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
85
−5.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$98.6M
On food away from home · $4,212 a household
Spending per listing
$500K
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
84.2
37% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
63,474
+2.7% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Garfield 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 Garfield 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, Garfield County has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #1,904 of 2,405 scored counties and #23 of 37 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 197 sit-down restaurants in Garfield County. Of those, 35 are chain locations, or 18%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 84.2, 37% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $4,212 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in Garfield County spend about $98.6M a year on food away from home. That is about $500K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 25% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 85 businesses with payroll in Garfield County classed as full-service restaurants, down 5.6% from 2019. That is one for every 275 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Garfield County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Garfield County grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Garfield 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 Garfield County, CO compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureGarfield CountyColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households84.261.861.3
Spending per listing$500K$716K$664K
Households per official establishment275468500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−5.6%−1.7%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,212$4,421$4,070
Median household income$91,131$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market score3459

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
90 → 85−5.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,214
Annual payroll, 2023
$41.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
19735 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
149The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$1.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
63,474+2.7% since 2020
Households
23,404
Median age
38.0
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
2,947 sq. mi.
People per square mile
21
Median household income
$91,131+20.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$113,996
Median home value
$527,800
Jobs located here
23,651
Daytime population
54,459Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Garfield 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 Garfield 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 Garfield 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
23Garfield County, CO3419784.2$500K+2.7%#1,904 of 2,405

Other business types in Garfield County

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

Questions

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

There are 197 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Garfield County as of September 2026. 35 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 85 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 5.6% from 2019. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $98.6M a year, or $4,212 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 197 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $500K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,404 households in Garfield County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Garfield County has 84.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 37% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $500K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Garfield County would have about 149, against 197 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 275 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Garfield County, CO growing?

Population estimates put Garfield County at 63,474 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,404 households. The median household income in Garfield County is $91,131 a year, 13% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.0% 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. 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. Garfield County scores 34 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,904 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Garfield 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 Garfield 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.