Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Sit-down restaurants in Union County, OH

How Union 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 95 out of 100: Very high

Ranked #5 of 2,405 scored counties
#1 of 88 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
83
33 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
25
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$116.6M
On food away from home · $4,810 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
2.1 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
34.3
44% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
73,446
+16.5% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Union 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 Union 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, Union County has a Groundwork market score of 95 (very high): #5 of 2,405 scored counties and #1 of 88 scored counties in Ohio. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

As of September 2026, map listings count 83 sit-down restaurants in Union County. Of those, 33 are chain locations, or 40%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 34.3 per 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Union County comes to about $116.6M a year: $4,810 per household, 18% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.4M of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 2.1 times 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 25 businesses with payroll in Union County classed as full-service restaurants, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 969 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $465K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Union County. Population estimates show Union County grew 16.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Union 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 Union County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureUnion CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households34.348.961.3
Spending per listing$1.4M$783K$664K
Households per official establishment969632500
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+0.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+16.5%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,810$3,829$4,070
Median household income$112,322$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score9565

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
25 → 250.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
571
Annual payroll, 2023
$13M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8333 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
176The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$465K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
73,446+16.5% since 2020
Households
24,232
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
432 sq. mi.
People per square mile
156
Median household income
$112,322+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$137,663
Median home value
$344,900
Jobs located here
37,111
Daytime population
68,956Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Union 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 Union 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 Union 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

Other business types in Union County

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

Questions

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

Union County has 83 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 33 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $116.6M a year, or $4,810 per household. That is 18% above the U.S. average (an index of 118, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 83 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.4M per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,232 households in Union County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Union County has 34.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.4M, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Union County would have about 176, against 83 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 969 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 Union County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Union County at 73,446 people in 2025, up 16.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,232 households. The median household income in Union County is $112,322 a year, 39% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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. 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. Union County scores 95 for sit-down restaurants (very high), #5 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Union 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 Union 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.