Food and drink · Metro area · Kentucky
Sit-down restaurants in the Owensboro, KY metro area
How the Owensboro, KY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #194 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 216
- 103 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 76
- −7.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $159.5M
- On food away from home · $3,523 a household
- Spending per listing
- $738K
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 47.7
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 113,962
- +1.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Owensboro metro 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 Owensboro metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 216 sit-down restaurants in the Owensboro metro area. 103 of them (48%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 47.7, 22% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $3,523 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the Owensboro metro area spend about $159.5M a year on food away from home. Spread across 216 sit-down restaurants, that is $738K 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Owensboro metro area was 76 in 2023, down 7.3% from 2019. That is one for every 596 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 20 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $3.5M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Owensboro metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Owensboro metro area grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Owensboro metro area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #194 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Owensboro metro area 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.
| Measure | Owensboro metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 47.7 | 49.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $738K | $707K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 596 | 646 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −7.3% | +1.2% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.3% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,523 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,002 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 76−7.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,021
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $44.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 20Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 216103 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 240The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $3.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Owensboro metro 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 Owensboro metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 113,962+1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 45,280
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 711 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 159
- Median household income
- $68,002
- Average household income
- $89,111
- Median home value
- $195,400
- Jobs located here
- 48,709
- Daytime population
- 113,540Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Owensboro metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Owensboro metro 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Owensboro metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 67 | 4,626 | 51.0 | $803K | +2.7% | #66 of 387 |
| 1Bowling Green, KY | 57 | 366 | 49.9 | $683K | +9.5% | #135 of 387 |
| 2Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 55 | 2,979 | 53.4 | $711K | +2.9% | #145 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 54 | 639 | 42.0 | $799K | −2.6% | #150 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 52 | 640 | 51.3 | $687K | +8.5% | #173 of 387 |
| 3Elizabethtown, KY | 51 | 257 | 50.8 | $701K | +2.4% | #179 of 387 |
| 4Owensboro, KY | 49 | 216 | 47.7 | $738K | +1.3% | #194 of 387 |
| 5Lexington-Fayette, KY | 40 | 1,341 | 62.0 | $609K | +3.4% | #277 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 16 | 253 | 60.6 | $575K | −1.2% | #381 of 387 |
Other business types in the Owensboro metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza31
- Coffee shops and cafes57
- Bakeries and dessert shops42
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 Owensboro, KY metro area?
There are 216 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Owensboro metro area as of September 2026. 103 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 76 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 7.3% from 2019. Another 20 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Owensboro, KY metro area spend on food away from home?
About $159.5M a year, or $3,523 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 216 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $738K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 45,280 households in the Owensboro metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Owensboro, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Owensboro metro area has 47.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $738K, 11% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Owensboro metro area would have about 240, against 216 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 596 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Owensboro, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Owensboro metro area at 113,962 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 45,280 households. The median household income in the Owensboro metro area is $68,002 a year, 16% 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 Owensboro metro area scores 49 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #194 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Owensboro metro 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 Owensboro metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Owensboro metro 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 Owensboro metro 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.