Food and drink · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Sit-down restaurants in the Lock Haven, PA area
How the Lock Haven, PA 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 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #270 of 538 scored small-town markets
#13 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 76
- 24 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- 28
- −12.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $52.3M
- On food away from home · $3,393 a household
- Spending per listing
- $689K
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 49.3
- 20% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,870
- +1.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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
At $3,393 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in the Lock Haven area spend about $52.3M a year on food away from home. Spread across 76 sit-down restaurants, that is $689K per restaurant, 4% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Lock Haven area has 76 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 24 are chain locations, or 32%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 49.3 per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Lock Haven area in 2023, down 12.5% from 2019. That is one for every 551 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $410K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Lock Haven area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lock Haven area grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Lock Haven area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #270 of 538 scored small-town markets and #13 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania.
How the Lock Haven area 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.
| Measure | Lock Haven area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 49.3 | 53.7 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $689K | $740K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 551 | 559 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −12.5% | −2.3% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.3% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,393 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $60,816 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 28−12.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 357
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7624 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 79The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $410K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,870+1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 15,424
- Median age
- 41.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 890 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 42
- Median household income
- $60,816+19.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $77,923
- Median home value
- $175,900
- Jobs located here
- 12,199
- Daytime population
- 34,134Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Pennsylvania for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Lock Haven area marked.
Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hemlock Farms, PA | 84 | 98 | 40.4 | $987K | +7.2% | #11 of 538 |
| 2Sayre, PA | 70 | 69 | 28.0 | $1.2M | −0.6% | #72 of 538 |
| 3Pottsville, PA | 64 | 253 | 43.6 | $806K | +1.5% | #117 of 538 |
| 4Lewistown, PA | 62 | 65 | 35.1 | $943K | 0.0% | #140 of 538 |
| 5Oil City, PA | 61 | 73 | 34.1 | $966K | −2.0% | #147 of 538 |
| 6Sunbury, PA | 61 | 167 | 36.5 | $952K | −1.7% | #148 of 538 |
| 7Lewisburg, PA | 60 | 70 | 48.1 | $793K | −0.8% | #163 of 538 |
| 8Huntingdon, PA | 59 | 65 | 39.8 | $875K | −2.4% | #172 of 538 |
| 9Warren, PA | 57 | 56 | 34.7 | $952K | −3.8% | #191 of 538 |
| 10Somerset, PA | 54 | 118 | 40.2 | $831K | −2.7% | #220 of 538 |
| 13Lock Haven, PA | 49 | 76 | 49.3 | $689K | +1.3% | #270 of 538 |
Other business types in the Lock Haven area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes67
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops76
- Pizza64
- Coffee shops and cafes77
- Bakeries and dessert shops65
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 Lock Haven, PA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 76 sit-down restaurants in the Lock Haven area. 24 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 12.5% from 2019.
How much do households in the Lock Haven, PA area spend on food away from home?
About $52.3M a year, or $3,393 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $689K 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 15,424 households in the Lock Haven area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lock Haven, PA area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Lock Haven area has 49.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $689K, 4% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Lock Haven area would have about 79, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 551 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lock Haven, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the Lock Haven area at 37,870 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,424 households. Median household income in the Lock Haven area is $60,816, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.4%, 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 Lock Haven area scores 49 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #270 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 Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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.