Food and drink · County · Nebraska
Sit-down restaurants in Kearney County, NE
The sit-down restaurants in Kearney 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
- 6 chain locations (67%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $11M
- On food away from home · $3,926 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 85% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 32.0
- 48% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 6,790
- +1.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Kearney 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 Kearney 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
Households in Kearney County spend about $11M a year on food away from home, or $3,926 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.2M of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 85% 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 Kearney County as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 67%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 32.0, 48% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for full-service restaurants in Kearney County, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates show Kearney County grew 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Kearney 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.
| Measure | Kearney County | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 32.0 | 51.8 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $762K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 555 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.6% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,926 | $3,946 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $78,631 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 96 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 17The 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 Kearney 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 Kearney County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 6,790+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 2,814
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.5
- Land area
- 516 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 13
- Median household income
- $78,631
- Average household income
- $109,259
- Median home value
- $223,400
- Jobs located here
- 1,960
- Daytime population
- 5,454Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Nebraska
Every Nebraska market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Nebraska for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with Kearney County marked.
Top counties in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sarpy County, NE | 89 | 285 | 38.5 | $1.2M | +9.0% | #31 of 2,405 |
| 2Cass County, NE | 81 | 42 | 38.8 | $1.1M | +3.9% | #108 of 2,405 |
| 3Seward County, NE | 75 | 28 | 41.2 | $971K | +2.3% | #245 of 2,405 |
| 4Washington County, NE | 72 | 31 | 36.8 | $1.2M | +1.8% | #311 of 2,405 |
| 5Saunders County, NE | 67 | 40 | 44.9 | $955K | +6.0% | #457 of 2,405 |
| 6Lancaster County, NE | 66 | 646 | 48.2 | $806K | +3.4% | #499 of 2,405 |
| 7Platte County, NE | 66 | 70 | 51.3 | $726K | +3.9% | #505 of 2,405 |
| 8Otoe County, NE | 65 | 39 | 61.1 | $648K | +3.9% | #545 of 2,405 |
| 9Douglas County, NE | 54 | 1,388 | 58.2 | $711K | +3.6% | #1,001 of 2,405 |
| 10Gage County, NE | 54 | 48 | 51.5 | $697K | +0.2% | #1,005 of 2,405 |
| Kearney County, NE | Not scored | 9 | 32.0 | $1.2M | +1.5% |
Other business types in Kearney County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Kearney County, NE?
As of September 2026, map listings count 9 sit-down restaurants in Kearney County. 6 of them (67%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. No official count is published for full-service restaurants in Kearney County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Kearney County, NE spend on food away from home?
About $11M a year, or $3,926 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, 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 2,814 households in Kearney County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Kearney County, NE compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Kearney County has 32.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 48% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.2M, 85% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Kearney County would have about 17, against 9 on map listings.
How fast is Kearney County, NE growing?
Population estimates put Kearney County at 6,790 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,814 households. Median household income in Kearney County is $78,631, 3% 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 Kearney 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 Kearney County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Kearney 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 Kearney 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.