Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas
Sit-down restaurants in the Salina, KS area
How the Salina, KS area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #314 of 538 scored small-town markets
#5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas
- Listings
- 128
- 62 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 46
- +35.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $88.6M
- On food away from home · $3,554 a household
- Spending per listing
- $692K
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 51.3
- 16% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 59,121
- −1.4% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Salina 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 Salina area. 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
At $3,554 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the Salina area spend about $88.6M a year on food away from home. That is about $692K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 4% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Salina area has 128 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 51.3 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 46 businesses with payroll in the Salina area classed as full-service restaurants, up 35.3% from 2019. That is one for every 542 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Salina area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Salina area scores 46 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #314 of 538 scored small-town markets and #5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas.
How the Salina 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.
| Measure | Salina area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 51.3 | 53.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $692K | $725K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 542 | 534 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +35.3% | +0.6% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,554 | $3,910 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,745 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46+35.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,218
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $23.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 12862 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 134The 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 Salina 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 Salina area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 59,121−1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 24,931
- Median age
- 42.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,441 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 41
- Median household income
- $65,745+25.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,150
- Median home value
- $178,200
- Jobs located here
- 30,161
- Daytime population
- 61,857Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Salina 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 Salina area. 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 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 Salina area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1McPherson, KS | 68 | 57 | 46.9 | $815K | −0.4% | #88 of 538 |
| 2Arkansas City-Winfield, KS | 60 | 59 | 44.1 | $764K | −0.4% | #166 of 538 |
| 3Ottawa, KS | 58 | 52 | 50.0 | $744K | +1.1% | #184 of 538 |
| 4Hutchinson, KS | 46 | 111 | 43.4 | $778K | −0.6% | #310 of 538 |
| 5Salina, KS | 46 | 128 | 51.3 | $692K | −1.4% | #314 of 538 |
| 6Atchison, KS | 41 | 27 | 47.1 | $725K | −0.9% | #359 of 538 |
| 7Garden City, KS | 33 | 90 | 68.0 | $561K | −2.1% | #443 of 538 |
| 8Emporia, KS | 30 | 85 | 58.1 | $566K | +0.4% | #463 of 538 |
| 9Pittsburg, KS | 28 | 86 | 54.3 | $587K | +0.1% | #473 of 538 |
| 10Great Bend, KS | 27 | 62 | 59.7 | $560K | −2.5% | #483 of 538 |
Other business types in the Salina area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes44
- Sit-down restaurants46
- Fast food and sandwich shops27
- Pizza31
- Coffee shops and cafes53
- Bakeries and dessert shops52
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 the Salina, KS area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 128 sit-down restaurants in the Salina area. 62 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 35.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Salina, KS area spend on food away from home?
About $88.6M a year, or $3,554 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 128 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $692K 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 24,931 households in the Salina area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Salina, KS area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Salina area has 51.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $692K, 4% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Salina area would have about 134, against 128 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 542 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 35.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Salina, KS area growing?
Population estimates put the Salina area at 59,121 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 24,931 households. Median household income in the Salina area is $65,745, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.5%, 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 Salina area scores 46 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #314 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 Salina 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 Salina area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Salina 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 Salina 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.