Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Nebraska

Sit-down restaurants in Wayne County, NE

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

Groundwork market score

Not scored

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

Listings
15
5 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$13.3M
On food away from home · $3,550 a household
Spending per listing
$888K
34% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
40.0
35% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
10,020
+3.3% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 15 sit-down restaurants in Wayne County. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 40.0 for every 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $3,550 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in Wayne County spend about $13.3M a year on food away from home. Spread across 15 sit-down restaurants, that is $888K per restaurant, 34% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in Wayne County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 751 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Wayne County grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, in step with 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureWayne CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households40.051.861.3
Spending per listing$888K$762K$664K
Households per official establishment751555500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,550$3,946$4,070
Median household income$66,215$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored66

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 5
Employees, 2023
47
Annual payroll, 2023
$843K
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
155 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,020+3.3% since 2020
Households
3,753
Median age
35.1
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
443 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$66,215
Average household income
$83,400
Median home value
$221,600
Jobs located here
5,123
Daytime population
10,606Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Wayne 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 Wayne 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 Wayne 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
Wayne County, NENot scored1540.0$888K+3.3%

Other business types in Wayne 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 Wayne County, NE?

There are 15 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Wayne County as of September 2026. 5 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $13.3M a year, or $3,550 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $888K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,753 households in Wayne County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Wayne County has 40.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $888K, 34% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Wayne County would have about 20, against 15 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 751 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Wayne County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Wayne County at 10,020 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,753 households. The median household income in Wayne County is $66,215 a year, 18% 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Wayne 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 Wayne 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.