Food and drink · County · Iowa
Sit-down restaurants in Mills County, IA
How Mills County, IA 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 80 out of 100: High
Ranked #122 of 2,405 scored counties
#3 of 72 scored counties in Iowa
- Listings
- 16
- 4 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $23M
- On food away from home · $4,259 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.4M
- 2.2 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 29.7
- 52% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 14,793
- +2.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Mills 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 Mills County. 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, Mills County has a Groundwork market score of 80 (high): #122 of 2,405 scored counties and #3 of 72 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.
Households in Mills County spend about $23M a year on food away from home, or $4,259 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.4M per restaurant, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
Mills County has 16 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 25%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 29.7 per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Mills County was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 674 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Mills County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Mills County compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Mills County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 29.7 | 52.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1.4M | $733K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 674 | 535 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,259 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $90,753 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 80 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8 → 8
- Employees, 2023
- 96
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 164 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 35The 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 Mills 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 Mills County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 14,793+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 5,394
- Median age
- 42.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 84%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 437 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $90,753+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,810
- Median home value
- $237,800
- Jobs located here
- 3,516
- Daytime population
- 10,867Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Mills 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 Mills County. 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Mills County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warren County, IA | 90 | 81 | 39.2 | $1.1M | +9.0% | #24 of 2,405 |
| 2Madison County, IA | 82 | 19 | 28.4 | $1.5M | +3.8% | #90 of 2,405 |
| 3Mills County, IA | 80 | 16 | 29.7 | $1.4M | +2.6% | #122 of 2,405 |
| 4Dallas County, IA | 80 | 219 | 51.6 | $923K | +17.8% | #130 of 2,405 |
| 5Benton County, IA | 79 | 28 | 27.4 | $1.5M | +1.8% | #135 of 2,405 |
| 6Boone County, IA | 77 | 44 | 40.2 | $997K | +0.4% | #196 of 2,405 |
| 7Harrison County, IA | 75 | 23 | 37.8 | $1M | +0.4% | #239 of 2,405 |
| 8Buchanan County, IA | 71 | 28 | 33.9 | $1.1M | +1.3% | #334 of 2,405 |
| 9Hancock County, IA | 69 | 12 | 25.7 | $1.4M | −2.2% | #392 of 2,405 |
| 10Jasper County, IA | 68 | 55 | 36.6 | $1M | +0.9% | #423 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Mills County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes78
- Sit-down restaurants80
- Fast food and sandwich shops
- Pizza
- Coffee shops and cafes46
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Mills County, IA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 sit-down restaurants in Mills County. 4 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.
How much do households in Mills County, IA spend on food away from home?
About $23M a year, or $4,259 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.4M 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 5,394 households in Mills County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Mills County, IA compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Mills County has 29.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.4M, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Mills County would have about 35, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 674 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Mills County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Mills County at 14,793 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,394 households. Median household income in Mills County is $90,753, 12% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.9%, 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. Mills County scores 80 for sit-down restaurants (high), #122 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mills 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 Mills County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Mills 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 Mills 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.