Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Sit-down restaurants in Brown County, OH

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #186 of 2,405 scored counties
#13 of 88 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
55
20 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
15
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$62.2M
On food away from home · $3,627 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
70% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
32.1
48% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
44,397
+1.6% since 2020

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

For sit-down restaurants, Brown County has a Groundwork market score of 77 (high): #186 of 2,405 scored counties and #13 of 88 scored counties in Ohio. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

Households in Brown County spend about $62.2M a year on food away from home, or $3,627 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 55 sit-down restaurants, that is $1.1M per restaurant, 70% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 55 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Brown County as of September 2026. 20 of them (36%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 32.1 per 10,000 households, 48% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in Brown County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 1,143 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Brown County grew 1.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Brown County compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Brown County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureBrown CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households32.148.961.3
Spending per listing$1.1M$783K$664K
Households per official establishment1,143632500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,627$3,829$4,070
Median household income$71,270$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score7765

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19 → 15
Employees, 2023
413
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5520 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
94The 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 Brown 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 Brown County

Population, 2025 estimate
44,397+1.6% since 2020
Households
17,138
Median age
42.7
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
490 sq. mi.
People per square mile
90
Median household income
$71,270+30.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,014
Median home value
$196,200
Jobs located here
7,340
Daytime population
31,966Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Sit-down restaurants across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

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

Top counties in Ohio

Counties in Ohio ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Union County, OH958334.3$1.4M+16.5%#5 of 2,405
2Pickaway County, OH895826.5$1.5M+7.4%#27 of 2,405
3Morrow County, OH882820.8$1.9M+3.7%#34 of 2,405
4Fairfield County, OH8521836.1$1.2M+6.5%#60 of 2,405
5Madison County, OH856541.4$1M+7.1%#67 of 2,405
6Warren County, OH8436840.0$1.2M+5.7%#71 of 2,405
7Clermont County, OH8131837.4$1.1M+3.9%#109 of 2,405
8Holmes County, OH784231.4$1.3M+1.7%#156 of 2,405
9Knox County, OH788234.9$1.1M+1.9%#160 of 2,405
10Lorain County, OH7848638.1$1M+3.1%#166 of 2,405
13Brown County, OH775532.1$1.1M+1.6%#186 of 2,405

Other business types in Brown County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Brown County, OH?

As of September 2026, map listings count 55 sit-down restaurants in Brown County. 20 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Brown County, OH spend on food away from home?

About $62.2M a year, or $3,627 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 55 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.1M 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 17,138 households in Brown County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Brown County has 32.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 48% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.1M, 70% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Brown County would have about 94, against 55 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,143 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Brown County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Brown County at 44,397 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,138 households. Median household income in Brown County is $71,270, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.6%, 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. Brown County scores 77 for sit-down restaurants (high), #186 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Brown 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 Brown 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.