Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Florida

Sit-down restaurants in Leon County, FL

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,933 of 2,405 scored counties
#59 of 65 scored counties in Florida

Listings
825
289 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
249
+10.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$444.4M
On food away from home · $3,625 a household
Spending per listing
$539K
19% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
67.3
10% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
299,048
+1.7% since 2020

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

The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Leon County is 33 (lower middle), #1,933 of 2,405 scored counties and #59 of 65 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 825 sit-down restaurants in Leon County. 289 of them (35%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 67.3, 10% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Leon County comes to about $444.4M a year: $3,625 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $539K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 19% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Leon County was 249 in 2023, up 10.2% from 2019. That is one for every 492 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 14 SBA-backed loans worth $8.4M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Leon County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Leon County grew 1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Leon County compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Leon County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureLeon CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households67.366.061.3
Spending per listing$539K$582K$664K
Households per official establishment492481500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.2%+7.1%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,625$3,841$4,070
Median household income$66,287$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score3339

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
226 → 249+10.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,804
Annual payroll, 2023
$136.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
40Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
825289 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
670The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
14
Amount
$8.4M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
299,048+1.7% since 2020
Households
122,597
Median age
36.2
Homes lived in by their owners
53%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
668 sq. mi.
People per square mile
445
Median household income
$66,287+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$95,045
Median home value
$301,800
Jobs located here
170,719
Daytime population
341,629Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Leon 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 Leon 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

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

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sumter County, FL8717625.0$1.5M+21.1%#48 of 2,405
2Santa Rosa County, FL8329340.4$1M+11.7%#87 of 2,405
3Baker County, FL803032.7$1.2M+5.8%#126 of 2,405
4Glades County, FL78817.8$1.7M+9.9%#155 of 2,405
5Gilchrist County, FL782737.8$925K+14.5%#176 of 2,405
6Clay County, FL7838045.4$889K+9.4%#177 of 2,405
7Pasco County, FL7799342.0$888K+19.1%#199 of 2,405
8Union County, FL761023.2$1.5M+5.2%#209 of 2,405
9Flagler County, FL7522542.8$906K+21.0%#251 of 2,405
10Dixie County, FL741422.5$1.3M+8.0%#257 of 2,405
59Leon County, FL3382567.3$539K+1.7%#1,933 of 2,405

Other business types in Leon County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Leon County, FL?

There are 825 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Leon County as of September 2026. 289 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 249 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 10.2% from 2019. Another 40 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Leon County, FL spend on food away from home?

About $444.4M a year, or $3,625 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 825 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $539K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 122,597 households in Leon County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Leon County has 67.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $539K, 19% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Leon County would have about 670, against 825 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 492 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Leon County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Leon County at 299,048 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 122,597 households. The median household income in Leon County is $66,287 a year, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% 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. Leon County scores 33 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,933 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Leon 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 Leon 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.