Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Nebraska

Sit-down restaurants in Jefferson County, NE

The sit-down restaurants in Jefferson County, NE, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
9
4 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.6M
On food away from home · $3,382 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
78% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
28.7
53% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,070
−2.6% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County. 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

Household spending on food away from home in Jefferson County comes to about $10.6M a year: $3,382 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. Spread across 9 sit-down restaurants, that is $1.2M per restaurant, 78% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 9 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Jefferson County as of September 2026. 4 of them (44%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 28.7 for every 10,000 households, 53% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Jefferson County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 392 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Jefferson County declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Jefferson County compares

The same measures for Nebraska 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 Jefferson County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureJefferson CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households28.751.861.3
Spending per listing$1.2M$762K$664K
Households per official establishment392555500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,382$3,946$4,070
Median household income$59,044$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored66

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8 → 8
Employees, 2023
47
Annual payroll, 2023
$764K
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
94 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,070−2.6% since 2020
Households
3,136
Median age
44.0
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
570 sq. mi.
People per square mile
13
Median household income
$59,044
Average household income
$77,937
Median home value
$129,500
Jobs located here
3,410
Daytime population
6,665Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Sit-down restaurants across Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

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

Top counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sarpy County, NE8928538.5$1.2M+9.0%#31 of 2,405
2Cass County, NE814238.8$1.1M+3.9%#108 of 2,405
3Seward County, NE752841.2$971K+2.3%#245 of 2,405
4Washington County, NE723136.8$1.2M+1.8%#311 of 2,405
5Saunders County, NE674044.9$955K+6.0%#457 of 2,405
6Lancaster County, NE6664648.2$806K+3.4%#499 of 2,405
7Platte County, NE667051.3$726K+3.9%#505 of 2,405
8Otoe County, NE653961.1$648K+3.9%#545 of 2,405
9Douglas County, NE541,38858.2$711K+3.6%#1,001 of 2,405
10Gage County, NE544851.5$697K+0.2%#1,005 of 2,405
Jefferson County, NENot scored928.7$1.2M−2.6%

Other business types in Jefferson County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Jefferson County, NE?

As of September 2026, map listings count 9 sit-down restaurants in Jefferson County. 4 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

How much do households in Jefferson County, NE spend on food away from home?

About $10.6M a year, or $3,382 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.2M 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 3,136 households in Jefferson County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Jefferson County has 28.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 53% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.2M, 78% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Jefferson County would have about 16, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 392 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Jefferson County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Jefferson County at 7,070 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,136 households. Median household income in Jefferson County is $59,044, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.