Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Sit-down restaurants in Cuyahoga County, OH

How Cuyahoga County, OH 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 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,768 of 2,405 scored counties
#83 of 88 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
3,278
926 chain locations (28%)
Official establishments
983
+0.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.1B
On food away from home · $3,708 a household
Spending per listing
$627K
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
59.1
4% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,232,925
−2.3% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in Cuyahoga County comes to about $2.1B a year: $3,708 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 3,278 sit-down restaurants, that is $627K per restaurant, 5% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Cuyahoga County has 3,278 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 926 of them (28%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 59.1 for every 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Cuyahoga County was 983 in 2023, up 0.3% from 2019. That is one for every 564 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 227 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 82 SBA-backed loans worth $23.9M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Cuyahoga County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cuyahoga County declined 2.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For sit-down restaurants, Cuyahoga County has a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle): #1,768 of 2,405 scored counties and #83 of 88 scored counties in Ohio.

How Cuyahoga 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 Cuyahoga County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureCuyahoga CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households59.148.961.3
Spending per listing$627K$783K$664K
Households per official establishment564632500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+0.3%+0.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.3%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,708$3,829$4,070
Median household income$64,468$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score3765

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
980 → 983+0.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
22,804
Annual payroll, 2023
$606.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
227Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3,278926 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3,098The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
82
Amount
$23.9M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,232,925−2.3% since 2020
Households
554,551
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
457 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2,725
Median household income
$64,468+28.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,344
Median home value
$195,400
Jobs located here
751,187
Daytime population
1,420,605Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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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 Cuyahoga 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
83Cuyahoga County, OH373,27859.1$627K−2.3%#1,768 of 2,405

Other business types in Cuyahoga County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3,278 sit-down restaurants in Cuyahoga County. 926 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 983 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 0.3% from 2019. Another 227 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $2.1B a year, or $3,708 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,278 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $627K 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 554,551 households in Cuyahoga County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Cuyahoga County has 59.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $627K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Cuyahoga County would have about 3,098, against 3,278 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 564 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Cuyahoga County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Cuyahoga County at 1,232,925 people in 2025, down 2.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 554,551 households. Median household income in Cuyahoga County is $64,468, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.0%, 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. Cuyahoga County scores 37 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,768 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cuyahoga 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 Cuyahoga 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.