Food and drink · Metro area · Illinois
Sit-down restaurants in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area
How the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #337 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 575
- 194 chain locations (34%)
- Official establishments
- 212
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $365.4M
- On food away from home · $3,720 a household
- Spending per listing
- $635K
- 4% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 58.5
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 239,979
- +1.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Champaign-Urbana metro 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 Champaign-Urbana metro 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
For sit-down restaurants, the Champaign-Urbana metro area has a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle): #337 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 575 sit-down restaurants in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Of those, 194 are chain locations, or 34%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 58.5 for every 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area spend about $365.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,720 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $635K per restaurant, 4% 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 212 businesses with payroll in the Champaign-Urbana metro area classed as full-service restaurants, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 463 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $3.9M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Champaign-Urbana metro area grew 1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Champaign-Urbana metro area 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.
| Measure | Champaign-Urbana metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 58.5 | 62.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $635K | $680K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 463 | 507 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +0.4% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,720 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,528 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2120.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,511
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $87.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 27Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 575194 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 551The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 9
- Amount
- $3.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Champaign-Urbana metro 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 239,979+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 98,224
- Median age
- 36.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 1,921 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 124
- Median household income
- $65,528
- Average household income
- $92,216
- Median home value
- $201,700
- Jobs located here
- 101,931
- Daytime population
- 245,150Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Champaign-Urbana metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Champaign-Urbana metro 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Champaign-Urbana metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bloomington, IL | 63 | 360 | 51.3 | $791K | +0.1% | #93 of 387 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 60 | 6,121 | 52.7 | $779K | −0.2% | #111 of 387 |
| 2Rockford, IL | 52 | 640 | 47.2 | $782K | −0.3% | #165 of 387 |
| 3Peoria, IL | 49 | 814 | 52.9 | $728K | −1.3% | #195 of 387 |
| 4Kankakee, IL | 46 | 212 | 51.7 | $742K | −1.7% | #219 of 387 |
| 5Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 43 | 23,922 | 65.7 | $673K | 0.0% | #245 of 387 |
| 6Springfield, IL | 42 | 507 | 56.3 | $699K | −1.2% | #258 of 387 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 36 | 900 | 55.7 | $688K | −0.9% | #297 of 387 |
| 7Champaign-Urbana, IL | 31 | 575 | 58.5 | $635K | +1.5% | #337 of 387 |
| 8Decatur, IL | 31 | 243 | 55.9 | $632K | −4.3% | #338 of 387 |
Other business types in the Champaign-Urbana metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes34
- Sit-down restaurants31
- Fast food and sandwich shops36
- Pizza29
- Coffee shops and cafes50
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area?
The Champaign-Urbana metro area has 575 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 194 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 212 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 27 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area spend on food away from home?
About $365.4M a year, or $3,720 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 575 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $635K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 98,224 households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Champaign-Urbana metro area has 58.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $635K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Champaign-Urbana metro area would have about 551, against 575 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 463 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Champaign-Urbana metro area at 239,979 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 98,224 households. The median household income in the Champaign-Urbana metro area is $65,528 a year, 19% 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area scores 31 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #337 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Champaign-Urbana metro 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Champaign-Urbana metro 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 Champaign-Urbana metro 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.