Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Sit-down restaurants in Shelby County, OH

How Shelby 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 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #649 of 2,405 scored counties
#41 of 88 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
77
34 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
30
+3.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$72M
On food away from home · $3,811 a household
Spending per listing
$936K
41% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
40.7
34% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
48,065
−0.2% since 2020

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

At $3,811 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Shelby County spend about $72M a year on food away from home. That is about $936K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 41% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Shelby County has 77 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 34 of them (44%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 40.7 for every 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Shelby County in 2023, up 3.5% from 2019. That is one for every 630 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $9,000 has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Shelby County.

Population estimates put the population change in Shelby County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in Shelby County is 62 (upper middle), #649 of 2,405 scored counties and #41 of 88 scored counties in Ohio.

How Shelby 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 Shelby County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households40.748.961.3
Spending per listing$936K$783K$664K
Households per official establishment630632500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.5%+0.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.2%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,811$3,829$4,070
Median household income$73,978$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6265

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
29 → 30+3.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
534
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7734 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
109The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$9,000

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

Population, 2025 estimate
48,065−0.2% since 2020
Households
18,906
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
408 sq. mi.
People per square mile
118
Median household income
$73,978+15.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,849
Median home value
$208,100
Jobs located here
26,886
Daytime population
50,791Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby 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
41Shelby County, OH627740.7$936K−0.2%#649 of 2,405

Other business types in Shelby County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 77 sit-down restaurants in Shelby County. 34 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.5% from 2019.

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

About $72M a year, or $3,811 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 77 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $936K 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 18,906 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shelby County has 40.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $936K, 41% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Shelby County would have about 109, against 77 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 630 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Shelby County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 48,065 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 18,906 households. Median household income in Shelby County is $73,978, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.9%, 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. Shelby County scores 62 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #649 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby 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 Shelby 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.