Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maine

Sit-down restaurants in Somerset County, ME

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Somerset County, ME, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #608 of 2,405 scored counties
#4 of 16 scored counties in Maine

Listings
77
10 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
32
−8.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$75.4M
On food away from home · $3,247 a household
Spending per listing
$979K
47% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
33.2
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
51,620
+2.3% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Somerset 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 Somerset 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

Household spending on food away from home in Somerset County comes to about $75.4M a year: $3,247 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Spread across 77 sit-down restaurants, that is $979K per restaurant, 47% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Somerset County has 77 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 33.2 for every 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 32 businesses with payroll in Somerset County classed as full-service restaurants, down 8.6% from 2019. That is one for every 725 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $74K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Somerset County.

Population estimates put the population change in Somerset County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Somerset County scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #608 of 2,405 scored counties and #4 of 16 scored counties in Maine.

How Somerset 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 Somerset County, ME compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureSomerset CountyMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households33.256.761.3
Spending per listing$979K$677K$664K
Households per official establishment725413500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−8.6%−2.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,247$3,835$4,070
Median household income$58,179$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score6337

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
35 → 32−8.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
258
Annual payroll, 2023
$6M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7710 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
114The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$74K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Somerset 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 Somerset County

Population, 2025 estimate
51,620+2.3% since 2020
Households
23,209
Median age
46.3
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
3,924 sq. mi.
People per square mile
13
Median household income
$58,179+31.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,305
Median home value
$166,900
Jobs located here
16,253
Daytime population
42,930Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Somerset 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 Somerset 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 Somerset 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 Somerset County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 77 sit-down restaurants in Somerset County. 10 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 8.6% from 2019. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $75.4M a year, or $3,247 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 77 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $979K 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 23,209 households in Somerset County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Somerset County has 33.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $979K, 47% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Somerset County would have about 114, against 77 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 725 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Somerset County, ME growing?

Population estimates put Somerset County at 51,620 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,209 households. Median household income in Somerset County is $58,179, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.5%, 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. Somerset County scores 63 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #608 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Somerset 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 Somerset 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.