Food and drink · Small-town market · Maine
Sit-down restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area
The sit-down restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #58 of 538 scored small-town markets
The only scored small-town market based in Maine
- Listings
- 236
- 50 chain locations (21%)
- Official establishments
- 87
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $196M
- On food away from home · $3,609 a household
- Spending per listing
- $831K
- 25% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 43.5
- 29% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 129,067
- +3.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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 236 sit-down restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville area. 50 of them (21%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 43.5 for every 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Augusta-Waterville area comes to about $196M a year: $3,609 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $831K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 25% 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.
Official counts show 87 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 624 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 7 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $225K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Augusta-Waterville area grew 3.5%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville area is 73 (upper middle), #58 of 538 scored small-town markets and the only scored small-town market based in Maine. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Augusta-Waterville area 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.
| Measure | Augusta-Waterville area | Maine | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 43.5 | 56.7 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $831K | $677K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 624 | 413 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | −2.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.5% | +3.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,609 | $3,835 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $69,077 | $74,733 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 870.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,804
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $48.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 7Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23650 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 295The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $225K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 129,067+3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 54,312
- Median age
- 43.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 868 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 146
- Median household income
- $69,077+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $88,742
- Median home value
- $238,200
- Jobs located here
- 65,677
- Daytime population
- 134,017Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Augusta-Waterville area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Augusta-Waterville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Augusta-Waterville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes68
- Sit-down restaurants73
- Fast food and sandwich shops78
- Pizza65
- Coffee shops and cafes47
- Bakeries and dessert shops40
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 Augusta-Waterville, ME area?
There are 236 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Augusta-Waterville area as of September 2026. 50 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 87 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 7 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Augusta-Waterville, ME area spend on food away from home?
About $196M a year, or $3,609 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 236 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $831K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 54,312 households in the Augusta-Waterville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Augusta-Waterville, ME area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Augusta-Waterville area has 43.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $831K, 25% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Augusta-Waterville area would have about 295, against 236 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 624 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Augusta-Waterville, ME area growing?
Population estimates put the Augusta-Waterville area at 129,067 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 54,312 households. The median household income in the Augusta-Waterville area is $69,077 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Augusta-Waterville area scores 73 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #58 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Augusta-Waterville 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 Augusta-Waterville 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.