Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Nebraska

Sit-down restaurants in Saline County, NE

How Saline County, NE 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 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,424 of 2,405 scored counties
#18 of 26 scored counties in Nebraska

Listings
29
9 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$19.8M
On food away from home · $3,842 a household
Spending per listing
$681K
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
56.4
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
14,996
+1.9% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 29 sit-down restaurants in Saline County. Of those, 9 are chain locations, or 31%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 56.4 for every 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Saline County comes to about $19.8M a year: $3,842 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That is about $681K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 3% 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 11 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Saline County in 2023. That is one for every 468 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $279K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Saline County.

Population estimates show Saline County grew 1.9% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, Saline County has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #1,424 of 2,405 scored counties and #18 of 26 scored counties in Nebraska.

How Saline 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 Saline County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureSaline CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households56.451.861.3
Spending per listing$681K$762K$664K
Households per official establishment468555500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.9%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,842$3,946$4,070
Median household income$79,910$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market score4566

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12 → 11
Employees, 2023
97
Annual payroll, 2023
$966K
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
299 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
30The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$279K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
14,996+1.9% since 2020
Households
5,143
Median age
36.4
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.5
Land area
574 sq. mi.
People per square mile
26
Median household income
$79,910+55.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,556
Median home value
$197,400
Jobs located here
6,877
Daytime population
13,841Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Saline 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 Saline 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 Saline 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
18Saline County, NE452956.4$681K+1.9%#1,424 of 2,405

Other business types in Saline County

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

Questions

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

Saline County has 29 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $19.8M a year, or $3,842 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 29 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $681K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,143 households in Saline County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Saline County has 56.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $681K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Saline County would have about 30, against 29 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 468 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Saline County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Saline County at 14,996 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,143 households. The median household income in Saline County is $79,910 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 55.2% 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. Saline County scores 45 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,424 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Saline 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 Saline 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.