Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Sit-down restaurants in the Marion-Herrin, IL area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Marion-Herrin, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #224 of 538 scored small-town markets
#4 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
155
64 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
49
−7.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$104.9M
On food away from home · $3,621 a household
Spending per listing
$677K
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
53.5
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
67,225
+0.2% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Marion-Herrin 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 Marion-Herrin area. 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

At $3,621 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Marion-Herrin area spend about $104.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $677K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 2% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 155 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Marion-Herrin area as of September 2026. Of those, 64 are chain locations, or 41%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 53.5 for every 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Marion-Herrin area was 49 in 2023, down 7.5% from 2019. That is one for every 591 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $900K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Marion-Herrin area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Marion-Herrin area grew 0.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Marion-Herrin area has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #224 of 538 scored small-town markets and #4 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.

How the Marion-Herrin 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Marion-Herrin, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureMarion-Herrin areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households53.562.061.3
Spending per listing$677K$680K$664K
Households per official establishment591507500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−7.5%+0.4%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.2%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,621$4,215$4,070
Median household income$65,604$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5441

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
49−7.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,065
Annual payroll, 2023
$22M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
15564 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
158The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$900K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Marion-Herrin 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 Marion-Herrin area

Population, 2025 estimate
67,225+0.2% since 2020
Households
28,983
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
420 sq. mi.
People per square mile
159
Median household income
$65,604
Average household income
$85,846
Median home value
$156,400
Jobs located here
28,604
Daytime population
68,042Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Marion-Herrin 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 Marion-Herrin area. 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 small-town markets in Illinois for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Marion-Herrin area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rochelle, IL6310851.9$761K−0.7%#134 of 538
2Freeport, IL568141.8$832K−3.0%#199 of 538
3Lincoln, IL554842.6$850K−2.5%#212 of 538
4Marion-Herrin, IL5415553.5$677K+0.2%#224 of 538
5Effingham, IL5210055.2$703K−0.9%#246 of 538
6Danville, IL5014046.5$719K−3.7%#263 of 538
7Quincy, IL-MO4814847.6$746K−2.0%#282 of 538
8Pontiac, IL487551.3$741K−2.1%#284 of 538
9Jacksonville, IL488153.6$669K−3.1%#292 of 538
10Taylorville, IL476346.4$752K−1.5%#301 of 538

Other business types in the Marion-Herrin area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Marion-Herrin, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 155 sit-down restaurants in the Marion-Herrin area. 64 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 7.5% from 2019. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Marion-Herrin, IL area spend on food away from home?

About $104.9M a year, or $3,621 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 155 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $677K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 28,983 households in the Marion-Herrin area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Marion-Herrin, IL area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Marion-Herrin area has 53.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $677K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Marion-Herrin area would have about 158, against 155 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 591 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Marion-Herrin, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Marion-Herrin area at 67,225 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 28,983 households. Median household income in the Marion-Herrin area is $65,604, 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. 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 Marion-Herrin area scores 54 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #224 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 Marion-Herrin 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 Marion-Herrin area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Marion-Herrin 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 Marion-Herrin 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.