Food and drink · Small-town market · Oklahoma
Sit-down restaurants in the McAlester, OK area
How the McAlester, 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 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #451 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma
- Listings
- 84
- 33 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 36
- +12.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $56.2M
- On food away from home · $3,149 a household
- Spending per listing
- $669K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 47.1
- 23% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 43,320
- −1.1% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the McAlester 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 McAlester area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the McAlester area is 32 (lower middle), #451 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 84 sit-down restaurants in the McAlester area. Of those, 33 are chain locations, or 39%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 47.1 for every 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the McAlester area comes to about $56.2M a year: $3,149 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $669K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, in line with 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 McAlester area was 36 in 2023, up 12.5% from 2019. That is one for every 496 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $565K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the McAlester area. Population estimates put the population change in the McAlester area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the McAlester 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.
| Measure | McAlester area | Oklahoma | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 47.1 | 58.8 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $669K | $599K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 496 | 522 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.5% | +3.2% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.1% | +4.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,149 | $3,519 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $55,310 | $65,039 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 36+12.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 453
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8433 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 85The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $565K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the McAlester 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 McAlester area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 43,320−1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 17,851
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,306 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $55,310+18.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,775
- Median home value
- $156,900
- Jobs located here
- 12,742
- Daytime population
- 42,726Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the McAlester 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 McAlester area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-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 McAlester area marked.
Top small-town markets in Oklahoma
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ada, OK | 63 | 62 | 41.0 | $821K | +1.2% | #131 of 538 |
| 2Bartlesville, OK | 57 | 102 | 48.7 | $711K | +2.7% | #197 of 538 |
| 3Duncan, OK | 55 | 85 | 48.4 | $698K | +3.4% | #217 of 538 |
| 4Shawnee, OK | 53 | 142 | 52.7 | $623K | +3.5% | #241 of 538 |
| 5Durant, OK | 47 | 115 | 62.5 | $518K | +10.9% | #307 of 538 |
| 6Tahlequah, OK | 39 | 107 | 57.2 | $551K | +4.5% | #388 of 538 |
| 7Ponca City, OK | 38 | 87 | 51.9 | $629K | −0.3% | #396 of 538 |
| 8Muskogee, OK | 37 | 131 | 50.9 | $601K | +0.7% | #404 of 538 |
| 9Miami, OK | 37 | 68 | 57.0 | $512K | +0.7% | #411 of 538 |
| 10Stillwater, OK | 36 | 186 | 57.0 | $555K | +2.8% | #416 of 538 |
| 12McAlester, OK | 32 | 84 | 47.1 | $669K | −1.1% | #451 of 538 |
Other business types in the McAlester area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes31
- Sit-down restaurants32
- Fast food and sandwich shops33
- Pizza34
- Coffee shops and cafes39
- Bakeries and dessert shops36
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many sit-down restaurants are in the McAlester, OK area?
There are 84 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the McAlester area as of September 2026. 33 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 12.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the McAlester, OK area spend on food away from home?
About $56.2M a year, or $3,149 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 84 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $669K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,851 households in the McAlester area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the McAlester, OK area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The McAlester area has 47.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $669K, in line with the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the McAlester area would have about 85, against 84 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 496 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the McAlester, OK area growing?
Population estimates put the McAlester area at 43,320 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,851 households. The median household income in the McAlester area is $55,310 a year, 31% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.2% 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 McAlester area scores 32 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #451 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 McAlester 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 McAlester area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the McAlester 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 McAlester 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.