Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas

Sit-down restaurants in the Ottawa, KS area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #184 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
52
24 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
20
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$38.7M
On food away from home · $3,717 a household
Spending per listing
$744K
12% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
50.0
18% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
26,299
+1.1% since 2020

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

At $3,717 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Ottawa area spend about $38.7M a year on food away from home. That is about $744K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 12% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

The Ottawa area has 52 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 24 are chain locations, or 46%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 50.0 for every 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Ottawa area was 20 in 2023. That is one for every 520 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Ottawa area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Ottawa area scores 58 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #184 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas.

How the Ottawa area compares

The same measures for Kansas 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 Ottawa, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureOttawa areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households50.053.961.3
Spending per listing$744K$725K$664K
Households per official establishment520534500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.1%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,717$3,910$4,070
Median household income$77,207$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score5849

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
20
Employees, 2023
364
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5224 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
58The 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 the Ottawa 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 Ottawa area

Population, 2025 estimate
26,299+1.1% since 2020
Households
10,409
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
572 sq. mi.
People per square mile
46
Median household income
$77,207+36.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,587
Median home value
$198,700
Jobs located here
10,357
Daytime population
23,076Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa area. 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 Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Ottawa area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kansas

Small-town markets in Kansas ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1McPherson, KS685746.9$815K−0.4%#88 of 538
2Arkansas City-Winfield, KS605944.1$764K−0.4%#166 of 538
3Ottawa, KS585250.0$744K+1.1%#184 of 538
4Hutchinson, KS4611143.4$778K−0.6%#310 of 538
5Salina, KS4612851.3$692K−1.4%#314 of 538
6Atchison, KS412747.1$725K−0.9%#359 of 538
7Garden City, KS339068.0$561K−2.1%#443 of 538
8Emporia, KS308558.1$566K+0.4%#463 of 538
9Pittsburg, KS288654.3$587K+0.1%#473 of 538
10Great Bend, KS276259.7$560K−2.5%#483 of 538

Other business types in the Ottawa area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Ottawa, KS area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 52 sit-down restaurants in the Ottawa area. 24 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

How much do households in the Ottawa, KS area spend on food away from home?

About $38.7M a year, or $3,717 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 52 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $744K 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 10,409 households in the Ottawa area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ottawa, KS area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Ottawa area has 50.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $744K, 12% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Ottawa area would have about 58, against 52 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 520 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ottawa, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the Ottawa area at 26,299 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 10,409 households. Median household income in the Ottawa area is $77,207, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 36.5%, 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. 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 Ottawa area scores 58 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #184 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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.