Food and drink · Metro area · Nebraska
Sit-down restaurants in the Lincoln, NE metro area
How the Lincoln, NE metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 74 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #30 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 3 scored metro areas based in Nebraska
- Listings
- 674
- 290 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 215
- +1.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $547.6M
- On food away from home · $3,886 a household
- Spending per listing
- $812K
- 22% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 47.8
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 352,081
- +3.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Lincoln metro 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 Lincoln metro 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
For sit-down restaurants, the Lincoln metro area has a Groundwork market score of 74 (upper middle): #30 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 3 scored metro areas based in Nebraska. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for sit-down restaurants.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 674 sit-down restaurants in the Lincoln metro area. Of those, 290 are chain locations, or 43%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 47.8 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $3,886 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Lincoln metro area spend about $547.6M a year on food away from home. That works out to $812K per restaurant, 22% 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 215 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Lincoln metro area in 2023, up 1.4% from 2019. That is one for every 655 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $2.9M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Lincoln metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lincoln metro area grew 3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Lincoln metro area 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 | Lincoln metro area | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 47.8 | 51.8 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $812K | $762K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 655 | 555 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.4% | +0.6% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,886 | $3,946 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $75,049 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 74 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 215+1.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,934
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $111.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 23Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 674290 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 825The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $2.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Lincoln metro 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 Lincoln metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 352,081+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 140,914
- Median age
- 36.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,409 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 244
- Median household income
- $75,049+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,431
- Median home value
- $273,500
- Jobs located here
- 186,541
- Daytime population
- 361,853Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lincoln metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Lincoln metro area. 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 metro areas in Nebraska for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Nebraska (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lincoln metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lincoln, NE | 74 | 674 | 47.8 | $812K | +3.3% | #30 of 387 |
| 2Omaha, NE-IA | 73 | 2,003 | 51.4 | $819K | +4.2% | #33 of 387 |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 43 | 312 | 56.2 | $678K | +1.0% | #244 of 387 |
| 3Grand Island, NE | 35 | 187 | 61.7 | $592K | +1.5% | #313 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lincoln metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes59
- Sit-down restaurants74
- Fast food and sandwich shops47
- Pizza49
- Coffee shops and cafes39
- Bakeries and dessert shops59
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 Lincoln, NE metro area?
There are 674 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Lincoln metro area as of September 2026. 290 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 215 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 1.4% from 2019. Official counts list 23 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Lincoln, NE metro area spend on food away from home?
About $547.6M a year, or $3,886 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 674 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $812K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 140,914 households in the Lincoln metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lincoln, NE metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Lincoln metro area has 47.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $812K, 22% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Lincoln metro area would have about 825, against 674 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 655 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lincoln, NE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lincoln metro area at 352,081 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 140,914 households. The median household income in the Lincoln metro area is $75,049 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.0% 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. 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 Lincoln metro area scores 74 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #30 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lincoln metro 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 Lincoln metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lincoln metro 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 Lincoln metro 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.