Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Sit-down restaurants in Mitchell County, IA

How Mitchell 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 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,529 of 2,405 scored counties
#47 of 72 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
25
6 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$17.4M
On food away from home · $3,785 a household
Spending per listing
$696K
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
54.4
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
10,650
+0.6% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 25 sit-down restaurants in Mitchell County. 6 of them (24%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 54.4 for every 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in Mitchell County spend about $17.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,785 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That works out to $696K per restaurant, 5% above 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 Mitchell County was 10 in 2023. That is one for every 460 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Mitchell County grew 0.6% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Mitchell County scores 42 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #1,529 of 2,405 scored counties and #47 of 72 scored counties in Iowa.

How Mitchell 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Mitchell County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureMitchell CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households54.452.961.3
Spending per listing$696K$733K$664K
Households per official establishment460535500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.6%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,785$3,880$4,070
Median household income$71,365$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score4251

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12 → 10
Employees, 2023
89
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
256 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
26The 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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,650+0.6% since 2020
Households
4,597
Median age
41.5
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
469 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$71,365+22.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,151
Median home value
$175,100
Jobs located here
3,761
Daytime population
9,436Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Mitchell 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 Mitchell 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 Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

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

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, IA908139.2$1.1M+9.0%#24 of 2,405
2Madison County, IA821928.4$1.5M+3.8%#90 of 2,405
3Mills County, IA801629.7$1.4M+2.6%#122 of 2,405
4Dallas County, IA8021951.6$923K+17.8%#130 of 2,405
5Benton County, IA792827.4$1.5M+1.8%#135 of 2,405
6Boone County, IA774440.2$997K+0.4%#196 of 2,405
7Harrison County, IA752337.8$1M+0.4%#239 of 2,405
8Buchanan County, IA712833.9$1.1M+1.3%#334 of 2,405
9Hancock County, IA691225.7$1.4M−2.2%#392 of 2,405
10Jasper County, IA685536.6$1M+0.9%#423 of 2,405
47Mitchell County, IA422554.4$696K+0.6%#1,529 of 2,405

Other business types in Mitchell County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Mitchell County, IA?

Mitchell County has 25 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

How much do households in Mitchell County, IA spend on food away from home?

About $17.4M a year, or $3,785 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 25 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $696K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,597 households in Mitchell County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Mitchell County has 54.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $696K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Mitchell County would have about 26, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 460 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Mitchell County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Mitchell County at 10,650 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 4,597 households. The median household income in Mitchell County is $71,365 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.4% 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. Mitchell County scores 42 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,529 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mitchell 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 Mitchell 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.