Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Pennsylvania

Sit-down restaurants in Franklin County, PA

The sit-down restaurants in Franklin County, PA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #530 of 2,405 scored counties
#11 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
277
85 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
107
+3.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$243.2M
On food away from home · $3,829 a household
Spending per listing
$878K
32% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
43.6
29% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
160,652
+3.0% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Franklin 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 Franklin 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 $3,829 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Franklin County spend about $243.2M a year on food away from home. That is about $878K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 32% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Franklin County has 277 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 85 of them (31%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 43.6, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Franklin County was 107 in 2023, up 3.9% from 2019. That is one for every 594 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $200K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Franklin County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Franklin County grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, Franklin County has a Groundwork market score of 65 (upper middle): #530 of 2,405 scored counties and #11 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Franklin County compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Franklin County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureFranklin CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households43.653.761.3
Spending per listing$878K$740K$664K
Households per official establishment594559500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.9%−2.3%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,829$3,973$4,070
Median household income$77,003$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score6556

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
103 → 107+3.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,056
Annual payroll, 2023
$36.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
12Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
27785 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
366The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$200K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
160,652+3.0% since 2020
Households
63,510
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
772 sq. mi.
People per square mile
204
Median household income
$77,003+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,696
Median home value
$249,800
Jobs located here
56,990
Daytime population
143,710Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Franklin County marked.

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Perry County, PA795228.4$1.4M+2.1%#137 of 2,405
2Lebanon County, PA7919334.0$1.1M+2.2%#146 of 2,405
3York County, PA7977042.4$952K+3.6%#151 of 2,405
4Butler County, PA7734442.6$993K+3.2%#197 of 2,405
5Pike County, PA759840.4$987K+7.2%#244 of 2,405
6Chester County, PA741,07452.4$991K+4.2%#272 of 2,405
7Adams County, PA7316941.4$967K+3.6%#302 of 2,405
8Lancaster County, PA7292743.6$950K+1.9%#322 of 2,405
9Fulton County, PA701930.0$1.2M−0.6%#361 of 2,405
10Cumberland County, PA6855952.5$797K+6.5%#438 of 2,405
11Franklin County, PA6527743.6$878K+3.0%#530 of 2,405

Other business types in Franklin County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Franklin County, PA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 277 sit-down restaurants in Franklin County. 85 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 107 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.9% from 2019. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Franklin County, PA spend on food away from home?

About $243.2M a year, or $3,829 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 277 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $878K 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 63,510 households in Franklin County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Franklin County has 43.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $878K, 32% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Franklin County would have about 366, against 277 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 594 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Franklin County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Franklin County at 160,652 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 63,510 households. Median household income in Franklin County is $77,003, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.5%, 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. Franklin County scores 65 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #530 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Franklin 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 Franklin 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.