Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Louisiana

Sit-down restaurants in Rapides Parish, LA

The sit-down restaurants in Rapides Parish, LA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,683 of 2,405 scored counties
#35 of 56 scored counties in Louisiana

Listings
248
79 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
64
+10.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$163M
On food away from home · $3,330 a household
Spending per listing
$657K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
50.7
17% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
125,877
−2.9% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Rapides Parish

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 Rapides Parish. 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 Rapides Parish spend about $163M a year on food away from home, or $3,330 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $657K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, in line with the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Rapides Parish has 248 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 32% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 50.7, 17% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 64 businesses with payroll in Rapides Parish classed as full-service restaurants, up 10.3% from 2019. That is one for every 765 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $180K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Rapides Parish.

Population estimates show Rapides Parish declined 2.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For sit-down restaurants, Rapides Parish has a Groundwork market score of 39 (lower middle): #1,683 of 2,405 scored counties and #35 of 56 scored counties in Louisiana.

How Rapides Parish compares

The same measures for Louisiana 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 Rapides Parish, LA compared with Louisiana and the U.S.
MeasureRapides ParishLouisianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households50.760.161.3
Spending per listing$657K$577K$664K
Households per official establishment765585500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.3%+2.8%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.9%−0.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,330$3,469$4,070
Median household income$54,967$60,756$80,734
Groundwork market score3925

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
58 → 64+10.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,491
Annual payroll, 2023
$34M
One-person businesses, 2023
15Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
24879 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
246The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$180K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Rapides Parish, 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 Rapides Parish

Population, 2025 estimate
125,877−2.9% since 2020
Households
48,954
Median age
39.2
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,324 sq. mi.
People per square mile
96
Median household income
$54,967+16.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$78,854
Median home value
$181,100
Jobs located here
54,365
Daytime population
133,944Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rapides Parish?

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 Rapides Parish. 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 Louisiana

Every Louisiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Louisiana for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with Rapides Parish marked.

Top counties in Louisiana

Counties in Louisiana ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Livingston Parish, LA7920738.6$975K+8.5%#150 of 2,405
2Ascension Parish, LA7724751.8$823K+6.4%#206 of 2,405
3West Baton Rouge Parish, LA745550.1$776K+5.5%#287 of 2,405
4East Feliciana Parish, LA731320.3$1.8M−2.8%#289 of 2,405
5Beauregard Parish, LA724230.6$1.2M+0.2%#312 of 2,405
6St. James Parish, LA672735.8$1M−5.9%#450 of 2,405
7Winn Parish, LA661531.3$986K+9.1%#483 of 2,405
8Grant Parish, LA6579.4$3.7M−0.3%#508 of 2,405
9St. Helena Parish, LA63512.0$2.4M−1.2%#593 of 2,405
10Assumption Parish, LA632224.9$1.3M−5.9%#595 of 2,405
35Rapides Parish, LA3924850.7$657K−2.9%#1,683 of 2,405

Other business types in Rapides Parish

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Rapides Parish, LA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 248 sit-down restaurants in Rapides Parish. 79 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 10.3% from 2019. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Rapides Parish, LA spend on food away from home?

About $163M a year, or $3,330 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 248 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $657K 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 48,954 households in Rapides Parish and national spending patterns by income.

How does Rapides Parish, LA compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Rapides Parish has 50.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $657K, in line with the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Rapides Parish would have about 246, against 248 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 765 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Rapides Parish, LA growing?

Population estimates put Rapides Parish at 125,877 people in 2025, down 2.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 48,954 households. Median household income in Rapides Parish is $54,967, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.3%, 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. Rapides Parish scores 39 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,683 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rapides Parish. 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 Rapides Parish

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rapides Parish?

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 Rapides Parish. 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.