Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Sit-down restaurants in Clark County, KY

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Clark County, KY, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,422 of 2,405 scored counties
#65 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
76
31 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
27
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$52M
On food away from home · $3,453 a household
Spending per listing
$684K
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
50.5
18% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
37,888
+2.3% since 2020

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

Households in Clark County spend about $52M a year on food away from home, or $3,453 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $684K per restaurant, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Clark County has 76 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 31 of them (41%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 50.5 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 Clark County was 27 in 2023. That is one for every 558 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Clark County grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, Clark County has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #1,422 of 2,405 scored counties and #65 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Clark County compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Clark County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureClark CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households50.549.361.3
Spending per listing$684K$707K$664K
Households per official establishment558646500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.2%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,453$3,489$4,070
Median household income$64,348$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score4550

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19 → 27
Employees, 2023
356
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
4Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7631 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
78The 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 Clark 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 Clark County

Population, 2025 estimate
37,888+2.3% since 2020
Households
15,055
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
253 sq. mi.
People per square mile
147
Median household income
$64,348+17.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,280
Median home value
$205,800
Jobs located here
13,487
Daytime population
34,107Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clark 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 Clark 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spencer County, KY951824.6$1.8M+7.7%#4 of 2,405
2Oldham County, KY887934.3$1.5M+4.9%#36 of 2,405
3Bullitt County, KY889730.6$1.3M+5.0%#40 of 2,405
4Jessamine County, KY836633.1$1.1M+7.8%#85 of 2,405
5Grant County, KY782830.4$1.1M+4.7%#158 of 2,405
6Henry County, KY771524.4$1.4M+4.8%#183 of 2,405
7Meade County, KY773733.6$1.1M+2.2%#187 of 2,405
8Allen County, KY772429.9$1.1M+9.5%#190 of 2,405
9Lincoln County, KY762323.7$1.3M+4.6%#211 of 2,405
10Shelby County, KY757239.0$1M+6.2%#242 of 2,405
65Clark County, KY457650.5$684K+2.3%#1,422 of 2,405

Other business types in Clark County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Clark County, KY?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 76 sit-down restaurants in Clark County. 31 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Clark County, KY spend on food away from home?

About $52M a year, or $3,453 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $684K 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 15,055 households in Clark County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Clark County has 50.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $684K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Clark County would have about 78, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 558 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Clark County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Clark County at 37,888 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,055 households. Median household income in Clark County is $64,348, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 17.1%, 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. Clark County scores 45 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,422 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clark 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 Clark 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.