Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Sit-down restaurants in Alexander County, IL

The sit-down restaurants in Alexander County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
14
4 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$6.1M
On food away from home · $3,184 a household
Spending per listing
$433K
35% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
73.5
20% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,570
−11.6% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 14 sit-down restaurants in Alexander County. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 73.5 for every 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Alexander County comes to about $6.1M a year: $3,184 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $433K per restaurant, 35% 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 3 businesses with payroll in Alexander County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 635 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Alexander County declined 11.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Alexander County compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Alexander County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureAlexander CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households73.562.061.3
Spending per listing$433K$680K$664K
Households per official establishment635507500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.4%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−11.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,184$4,215$4,070
Median household income$47,043$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored41

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 3
Employees, 2023
17
Annual payroll, 2023
$234K
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
144 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The 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 Alexander 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 Alexander County

Population, 2025 estimate
4,570−11.6% since 2020
Households
1,904
Median age
47.6
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
235 sq. mi.
People per square mile
21
Median household income
$47,043
Average household income
$68,282
Median home value
$59,800
Jobs located here
900
Daytime population
3,799Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Alexander 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 Alexander County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Sit-down restaurants across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

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

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kendall County, IL8120745.6$1.1M+9.9%#114 of 2,405
2Boone County, IL787538.5$1.1M+0.4%#162 of 2,405
3Menard County, IL751426.8$1.5M−3.3%#231 of 2,405
4Piatt County, IL742739.0$1.1M+0.6%#263 of 2,405
5Woodford County, IL705839.5$1.1M−0.8%#365 of 2,405
6Will County, IL701,30753.5$898K+2.2%#382 of 2,405
7McHenry County, IL6754846.6$1M+2.5%#452 of 2,405
8Moultrie County, IL622746.4$801K−0.8%#676 of 2,405
9Monroe County, IL606446.2$1M−0.3%#729 of 2,405
10Cumberland County, IL601638.3$955K−2.1%#730 of 2,405
Alexander County, ILNot scored1473.5$433K−11.6%

Other business types in Alexander County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Alexander County, IL?

Alexander County has 14 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 3 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 Alexander County, IL spend on food away from home?

About $6.1M a year, or $3,184 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $433K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,904 households in Alexander County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Alexander County has 73.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 20% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $433K, 35% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Alexander County would have about 9, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 635 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Alexander County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Alexander County at 4,570 people in 2025, down 11.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,904 households. The median household income in Alexander County is $47,043 a year, 42% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Alexander 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 Alexander 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.