Food and drink · Small-town market · Idaho
Sit-down restaurants in the Mountain Home, ID area
How the Mountain Home, ID 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 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #67 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Idaho
- Listings
- 43
- 10 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 18
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $38.5M
- On food away from home · $3,478 a household
- Spending per listing
- $895K
- 35% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 38.9
- 37% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,465
- +2.8% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home area. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 43 sit-down restaurants in the Mountain Home area. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 23%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 38.9 per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Households in the Mountain Home area spend about $38.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,478 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Spread across 43 sit-down restaurants, that is $895K per restaurant, 35% above 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 the Mountain Home area was 18 in 2023. That is one for every 615 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in the Mountain Home area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.8%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Mountain Home area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #67 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Idaho. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Mountain Home area compares
The same measures for Idaho 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 | Mountain Home area | Idaho | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 38.9 | 51.6 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $895K | $748K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 615 | 550 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.7% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.8% | +9.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,478 | $3,857 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,359 | $77,800 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 69 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 18
- Employees, 2023
- 263
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4310 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 58The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,465+2.8% since 2020
- Households
- 11,067
- Median age
- 35.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,075 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 10
- Median household income
- $65,359+39.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $82,615
- Median home value
- $316,500
- Jobs located here
- 6,488
- Daytime population
- 25,305Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Mountain Home 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.
Or open the report at the center of the Mountain Home area. 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 Idaho
Every Idaho market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Idaho for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Idaho (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Mountain Home area marked.
Top small-town markets in Idaho
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigham City, UT-ID | 96 | 75 | 34.9 | $1.1M | +12.6% | #1 of 538 |
| 1Blackfoot, ID | 92 | 63 | 39.1 | $967K | +6.4% | #2 of 538 |
| 2Mountain Home, ID | 71 | 43 | 38.9 | $895K | +2.8% | #67 of 538 |
| 3Moscow, ID | 64 | 76 | 46.7 | $748K | +5.6% | #124 of 538 |
| 4Burley, ID | 60 | 96 | 57.8 | $612K | +6.2% | #169 of 538 |
| 5Sandpoint, ID | 58 | 103 | 50.8 | $718K | +14.8% | #187 of 538 |
| Ontario, OR-ID | 47 | 101 | 50.5 | $662K | +5.0% | #303 of 538 |
| 6Rexburg, ID | 46 | 119 | 66.2 | $519K | +4.5% | #319 of 538 |
| Jackson, WY-ID | 39 | 169 | 116.5 | $434K | +4.2% | #392 of 538 |
| 7Hailey, ID | 39 | 125 | 99.0 | $417K | +6.1% | #393 of 538 |
Other business types in the Mountain Home area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants71
- Fast food and sandwich shops42
- Pizza66
- Coffee shops and cafes40
- Bakeries and dessert shops59
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 the Mountain Home, ID area?
There are 43 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Mountain Home area as of September 2026. 10 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Mountain Home, ID area spend on food away from home?
About $38.5M a year, or $3,478 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 43 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $895K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,067 households in the Mountain Home area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Mountain Home, ID area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Mountain Home area has 38.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $895K, 35% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Mountain Home area would have about 58, against 43 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 615 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is the Mountain Home, ID area growing?
Population estimates put the Mountain Home area at 29,465 people in 2025, up 2.8% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,067 households. The median household income in the Mountain Home area is $65,359 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 39.5% 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. 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 Mountain Home area scores 71 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #67 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 Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mountain Home area?
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 the Mountain Home area. 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.