Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Oklahoma

Sit-down restaurants in the Ardmore, OK area

How the Ardmore, OK area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #488 of 538 scored small-town markets
#15 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma

Listings
139
69 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
45
+2.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$64M
On food away from home · $3,361 a household
Spending per listing
$461K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
73.0
19% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
48,910
+1.8% since 2020

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

For sit-down restaurants, the Ardmore area has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #488 of 538 scored small-town markets and #15 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

As of September 2026, map listings count 139 sit-down restaurants in the Ardmore area. Of those, 69 are chain locations, or 50%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 73.0 per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in the Ardmore area spend about $64M a year on food away from home, or $3,361 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. Spread across 139 sit-down restaurants, that is $461K per restaurant, 31% below 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 45 businesses with payroll in the Ardmore area classed as full-service restaurants, up 2.3% from 2019. That is one for every 423 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Ardmore area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Ardmore area compares

The same measures for Oklahoma 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 Ardmore, OK area compared with Oklahoma and the U.S.
MeasureArdmore areaOklahomaU.S.
Listings per 10k households73.058.861.3
Spending per listing$461K$599K$664K
Households per official establishment423522500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.3%+3.2%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+4.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,361$3,519$4,070
Median household income$60,723$65,039$80,734
Groundwork market score2736

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
45+2.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,534
Annual payroll, 2023
$31.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
13969 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
97The 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 the Ardmore 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 Ardmore area

Population, 2025 estimate
48,910+1.8% since 2020
Households
19,046
Median age
38.5
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
822 sq. mi.
People per square mile
59
Median household income
$60,723
Average household income
$83,415
Median home value
$168,500
Jobs located here
23,303
Daytime population
50,671Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Sit-down restaurants across Oklahoma

Every Oklahoma market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Oklahoma for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Oklahoma, with the Ardmore area marked.

Top small-town markets in Oklahoma

Small-town markets in Oklahoma ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ada, OK636241.0$821K+1.2%#131 of 538
2Bartlesville, OK5710248.7$711K+2.7%#197 of 538
3Duncan, OK558548.4$698K+3.4%#217 of 538
4Shawnee, OK5314252.7$623K+3.5%#241 of 538
5Durant, OK4711562.5$518K+10.9%#307 of 538
6Tahlequah, OK3910757.2$551K+4.5%#388 of 538
7Ponca City, OK388751.9$629K−0.3%#396 of 538
8Muskogee, OK3713150.9$601K+0.7%#404 of 538
9Miami, OK376857.0$512K+0.7%#411 of 538
10Stillwater, OK3618657.0$555K+2.8%#416 of 538
15Ardmore, OK2713973.0$461K+1.8%#488 of 538

Other business types in the Ardmore area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Ardmore, OK area?

The Ardmore area has 139 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 69 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 45 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 2.3% from 2019. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Ardmore, OK area spend on food away from home?

About $64M a year, or $3,361 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 139 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $461K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,046 households in the Ardmore area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Ardmore area has 73.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $461K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Ardmore area would have about 97, against 139 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 423 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Ardmore, OK area growing?

Population estimates put the Ardmore area at 48,910 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,046 households. The median household income in the Ardmore area is $60,723 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Ardmore area scores 27 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #488 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 Ardmore 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 Ardmore area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ardmore 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 Ardmore 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.