Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maine

Sit-down restaurants in Aroostook County, ME

How Aroostook County, ME 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 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,196 of 2,405 scored counties
#8 of 16 scored counties in Maine

Listings
103
17 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
54
−8.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$97.8M
On food away from home · $3,269 a household
Spending per listing
$950K
43% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
34.4
44% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
66,609
−0.7% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Aroostook 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 Aroostook County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Aroostook County spend about $97.8M a year on food away from home, or $3,269 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Spread across 103 sit-down restaurants, that is $950K per restaurant, 43% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Aroostook County has 103 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 17 are chain locations, or 17%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 34.4 for every 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Aroostook County was 54 in 2023, down 8.5% from 2019. That is one for every 554 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Aroostook County declined 0.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Aroostook County is 49 (lower middle), #1,196 of 2,405 scored counties and #8 of 16 scored counties in Maine.

How Aroostook County compares

The same measures for Maine 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 Aroostook County, ME compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureAroostook CountyMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households34.456.761.3
Spending per listing$950K$677K$664K
Households per official establishment554413500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−8.5%−2.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.7%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,269$3,835$4,070
Median household income$56,700$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score4937

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
59 → 54−8.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
626
Annual payroll, 2023
$12M
One-person businesses, 2023
4Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10317 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
147The 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 Aroostook 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 Aroostook County

Population, 2025 estimate
66,609−0.7% since 2020
Households
29,932
Median age
48.1
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
6,671 sq. mi.
People per square mile
10
Median household income
$56,700+37.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,175
Median home value
$149,700
Jobs located here
24,240
Daytime population
64,574Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Aroostook 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 Aroostook County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Sit-down restaurants across Maine

Every Maine market ranked →

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

Top counties in Maine

Counties in Maine ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waldo County, ME696134.9$1M+2.6%#397 of 2,405
2Sagadahoc County, ME666438.9$1M+3.4%#479 of 2,405
3Androscoggin County, ME6620343.2$822K+4.8%#497 of 2,405
4Somerset County, ME637733.2$979K+2.3%#608 of 2,405
5Kennebec County, ME6223643.5$831K+3.5%#668 of 2,405
6Penobscot County, ME6127442.0$856K+3.8%#704 of 2,405
7Oxford County, ME5810242.3$807K+4.2%#821 of 2,405
8Aroostook County, ME4910334.4$950K−0.7%#1,196 of 2,405
9York County, ME4757963.3$653K+4.8%#1,329 of 2,405
10Piscataquis County, ME453440.5$818K+3.5%#1,396 of 2,405

Other business types in Aroostook County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Aroostook County, ME?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 103 sit-down restaurants in Aroostook County. 17 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 54 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 8.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 4 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Aroostook County, ME spend on food away from home?

About $97.8M a year, or $3,269 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 103 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $950K 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 29,932 households in Aroostook County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Aroostook County has 34.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $950K, 43% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Aroostook County would have about 147, against 103 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 554 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Aroostook County, ME growing?

Population estimates put Aroostook County at 66,609 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 29,932 households. Median household income in Aroostook County is $56,700, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 37.9%, 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. Aroostook County scores 49 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,196 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Aroostook 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 Aroostook 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.