Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Sit-down restaurants in the Portsmouth, OH area

The sit-down restaurants in the Portsmouth, OH area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #160 of 538 scored small-town markets
#21 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
95
44 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
38
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$92.1M
On food away from home · $3,193 a household
Spending per listing
$970K
46% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
32.9
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
71,365
−3.4% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth area. 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 95 sit-down restaurants in the Portsmouth area. Chain locations make up 46% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 32.9 per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in the Portsmouth area comes to about $92.1M a year: $3,193 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Spread across 95 sit-down restaurants, that is $970K per restaurant, 46% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Portsmouth area was 38 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 760 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $611K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Portsmouth area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Portsmouth area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Portsmouth area scores 60 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #160 of 538 scored small-town markets and #21 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio.

How the Portsmouth area 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 Portsmouth, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasurePortsmouth areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households32.948.961.3
Spending per listing$970K$783K$664K
Households per official establishment760632500
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+0.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.4%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,193$3,829$4,070
Median household income$50,609$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6065

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
380.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
935
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9544 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
139The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$611K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth area

Population, 2025 estimate
71,365−3.4% since 2020
Households
28,864
Median age
41.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
610 sq. mi.
People per square mile
119
Median household income
$50,609+22.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$70,152
Median home value
$137,900
Jobs located here
24,365
Daytime population
67,429Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Portsmouth area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Portsmouth area. 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 small-town markets in Ohio for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Ohio, with the Portsmouth area marked.

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Mount Vernon, OH888234.9$1.1M+1.9%#5 of 538
2Urbana, OH835635.8$1M+0.2%#13 of 538
3Wooster, OH8015033.8$1.1M−0.1%#17 of 538
4Coshocton, OH774933.1$988K+1.6%#28 of 538
5Wapakoneta, OH777539.6$984K−1.2%#29 of 538
6Ashland, OH756430.9$1.1M+0.1%#39 of 538
7Wilmington, OH757243.0$858K+0.6%#45 of 538
8Sidney, OH737740.7$936K−0.2%#55 of 538
9Bucyrus, OH725530.5$1.1M−0.3%#59 of 538
10Norwalk, OH719339.6$899K−0.4%#66 of 538
21Portsmouth, OH609532.9$970K−3.4%#160 of 538

Other business types in the Portsmouth area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Portsmouth, OH area?

The Portsmouth area has 95 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 44 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Portsmouth, OH area spend on food away from home?

About $92.1M a year, or $3,193 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 95 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $970K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 28,864 households in the Portsmouth area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Portsmouth area has 32.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $970K, 46% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Portsmouth area would have about 139, against 95 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 760 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Portsmouth, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Portsmouth area at 71,365 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 28,864 households. The median household income in the Portsmouth area is $50,609 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.5% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Portsmouth area scores 60 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #160 of 538 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth 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.