Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Sit-down restaurants in Meade County, KY

How Meade County, KY 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 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #187 of 2,405 scored counties
#7 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
37
18 chain locations (49%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$41.4M
On food away from home · $3,762 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
69% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
33.6
45% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,699
+2.2% since 2020

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

Meade County scores 77 (high) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #187 of 2,405 scored counties and #7 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 37 sit-down restaurants in Meade County. 18 of them (49%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 33.6, 45% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in Meade County spend about $41.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,762 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 69% 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 13 businesses with payroll in Meade County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 847 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates show Meade County grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Meade 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 Meade County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureMeade CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households33.649.361.3
Spending per listing$1.1M$707K$664K
Households per official establishment847646500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.2%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,762$3,489$4,070
Median household income$74,355$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score7750

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8 → 13
Employees, 2023
151
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3718 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
62The 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 Meade 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 Meade County

Population, 2025 estimate
30,699+2.2% since 2020
Households
11,007
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
306 sq. mi.
People per square mile
99
Median household income
$74,355+31.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,803
Median home value
$207,900
Jobs located here
5,894
Daytime population
23,204Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Meade 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 Meade 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 Meade 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

Other business types in Meade County

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

Questions

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

There are 37 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Meade County as of September 2026. 18 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

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

About $41.4M a year, or $3,762 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 37 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,007 households in Meade County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Meade County has 33.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.1M, 69% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Meade County would have about 62, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 847 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Meade County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Meade County at 30,699 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,007 households. The median household income in Meade County is $74,355 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.4% 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. Meade County scores 77 for sit-down restaurants (high), #187 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Meade 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 Meade 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.