Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Sit-down restaurants in Pocahontas County, IA

The sit-down restaurants in Pocahontas County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
14
7 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.3M
On food away from home · $3,448 a household
Spending per listing
$739K
11% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
46.7
24% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,819
−3.5% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 sit-down restaurants in Pocahontas County. 7 of them (50%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 46.7 per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in Pocahontas County spend about $10.3M a year on food away from home, or $3,448 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $739K per restaurant, 11% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Pocahontas County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 750 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $900K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Pocahontas County.

Population estimates put the population change in Pocahontas County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasurePocahontas CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households46.752.961.3
Spending per listing$739K$733K$664K
Households per official establishment750535500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,448$3,880$4,070
Median household income$61,875$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored51

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
47
Annual payroll, 2023
$586K
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
147 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$900K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County

Population, 2025 estimate
6,819−3.5% since 2020
Households
3,000
Median age
43.5
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
577 sq. mi.
People per square mile
12
Median household income
$61,875
Average household income
$77,538
Median home value
$98,100
Jobs located here
2,842
Daytime population
6,836Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Pocahontas 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
Pocahontas County, IANot scored1446.7$739K−3.5%

Other business types in Pocahontas County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

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

There are 14 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Pocahontas County as of September 2026. 7 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

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

About $10.3M a year, or $3,448 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $739K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,000 households in Pocahontas County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Pocahontas County has 46.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $739K, 11% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Pocahontas County would have about 16, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 750 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Pocahontas County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Pocahontas County at 6,819 people in 2025, down 3.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,000 households. The median household income in Pocahontas County is $61,875 a year, 23% 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas 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.