Food and drink · County · Maine
Sit-down restaurants in Franklin County, ME
How Franklin 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 28 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #2,115 of 2,405 scored counties
#14 of 16 scored counties in Maine
- Listings
- 77
- 5 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 44
- −4.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $42.4M
- On food away from home · $3,348 a household
- Spending per listing
- $551K
- 17% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 60.7
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,824
- +4.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Franklin 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 Franklin County. 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
For sit-down restaurants, Franklin County has a Groundwork market score of 28 (lower middle): #2,115 of 2,405 scored counties and #14 of 16 scored counties in Maine. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on food away from home in Franklin County comes to about $42.4M a year: $3,348 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $551K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 17% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
Franklin County has 77 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 6% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 60.7 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 44 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Franklin County in 2023, down 4.3% from 2019. That is one for every 288 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates show Franklin County grew 4.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Franklin 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.
| Measure | Franklin County | Maine | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 60.7 | 56.7 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $551K | $677K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 288 | 413 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.3% | −2.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.6% | +3.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,348 | $3,835 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $58,675 | $74,733 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 28 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46 → 44−4.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 634
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 775 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 64The 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,824+4.6% since 2020
- Households
- 12,675
- Median age
- 44.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,697 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 18
- Median household income
- $58,675+14.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,999
- Median home value
- $194,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,591
- Daytime population
- 27,726Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Franklin 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 Franklin County. 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 Maine
Every Maine market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Maine for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Maine, with Franklin County marked.
Top counties in Maine
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waldo County, ME | 69 | 61 | 34.9 | $1M | +2.6% | #397 of 2,405 |
| 2Sagadahoc County, ME | 66 | 64 | 38.9 | $1M | +3.4% | #479 of 2,405 |
| 3Androscoggin County, ME | 66 | 203 | 43.2 | $822K | +4.8% | #497 of 2,405 |
| 4Somerset County, ME | 63 | 77 | 33.2 | $979K | +2.3% | #608 of 2,405 |
| 5Kennebec County, ME | 62 | 236 | 43.5 | $831K | +3.5% | #668 of 2,405 |
| 6Penobscot County, ME | 61 | 274 | 42.0 | $856K | +3.8% | #704 of 2,405 |
| 7Oxford County, ME | 58 | 102 | 42.3 | $807K | +4.2% | #821 of 2,405 |
| 8Aroostook County, ME | 49 | 103 | 34.4 | $950K | −0.7% | #1,196 of 2,405 |
| 9York County, ME | 47 | 579 | 63.3 | $653K | +4.8% | #1,329 of 2,405 |
| 10Piscataquis County, ME | 45 | 34 | 40.5 | $818K | +3.5% | #1,396 of 2,405 |
| 14Franklin County, ME | 28 | 77 | 60.7 | $551K | +4.6% | #2,115 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Franklin County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes27
- Sit-down restaurants28
- Fast food and sandwich shops61
- Pizza46
- Coffee shops and cafes28
- Bakeries and dessert shops28
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 Franklin County, ME?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 77 sit-down restaurants in Franklin County. 5 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 44 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 4.3% from 2019.
How much do households in Franklin County, ME spend on food away from home?
About $42.4M a year, or $3,348 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 77 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $551K 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 12,675 households in Franklin County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Franklin County, ME compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Franklin County has 60.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $551K, 17% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Franklin County would have about 64, against 77 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 288 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is Franklin County, ME growing?
Population estimates put Franklin County at 30,824 people in 2025, up 4.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,675 households. Median household income in Franklin County is $58,675, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 14.1%, 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. Franklin County scores 28 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #2,115 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Franklin 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 Franklin County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Franklin 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 Franklin 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.