Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Sit-down restaurants in Montgomery County, IL

How Montgomery County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 24 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,227 of 2,405 scored counties
#81 of 87 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
79
31 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
24
−4.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$39.8M
On food away from home · $3,513 a household
Spending per listing
$503K
24% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
69.8
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
28,076
−0.6% since 2020

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

For sit-down restaurants, Montgomery County has a Groundwork market score of 24 (low): #2,227 of 2,405 scored counties and #81 of 87 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 79 sit-down restaurants in Montgomery County. 31 of them (39%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 69.8 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Montgomery County comes to about $39.8M a year: $3,513 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 79 sit-down restaurants, that is $503K per restaurant, 24% 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 Montgomery County was 24 in 2023, down 4.0% from 2019. That is one for every 472 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates show Montgomery County declined 0.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households69.862.061.3
Spending per listing$503K$680K$664K
Households per official establishment472507500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−4.0%+0.4%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,513$4,215$4,070
Median household income$63,620$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score2441

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25 → 24−4.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
296
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7931 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
60The 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County

Population, 2025 estimate
28,076−0.6% since 2020
Households
11,319
Median age
43.6
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
704 sq. mi.
People per square mile
40
Median household income
$63,620+20.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,686
Median home value
$112,300
Jobs located here
8,950
Daytime population
26,022Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Montgomery 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
81Montgomery County, IL247969.8$503K−0.6%#2,227 of 2,405

Other business types in Montgomery County

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

Questions

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

There are 79 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Montgomery County as of September 2026. 31 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 4.0% from 2019.

How much do households in Montgomery County, IL spend on food away from home?

About $39.8M a year, or $3,513 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 79 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $503K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,319 households in Montgomery County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Montgomery County has 69.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $503K, 24% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Montgomery County would have about 60, against 79 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 472 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Montgomery County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Montgomery County at 28,076 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 11,319 households. The median household income in Montgomery County is $63,620 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.6% 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. Montgomery County scores 24 for sit-down restaurants (low), #2,227 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.