Food and drink · County · South Dakota
Sit-down restaurants in Buffalo County, SD
How Buffalo County, SD compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 2
- 2 chain locations (100%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $1.5M
- On food away from home · $2,995 a household
- Spending per listing
- $761K
- Too few listings to compare
- Listings per 10k households
- 39.4
- Too few listings to compare
- Population, 2025
- 1,802
- −6.8% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County. 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 $2,995 per household (26% below the U.S. average), households in Buffalo County spend about $1.5M a year on food away from home. That is about $761K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 2 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Buffalo County as of September 2026. That is 39.4 per 10,000 households.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for full-service restaurants in Buffalo County, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates show Buffalo County declined 6.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Buffalo County compares
The same measures for South Dakota 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 | Buffalo County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 39.4 | 52.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $761K | $737K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 542 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −5.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −6.8% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,995 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $47,045 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 22 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2The 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,802−6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 508
- Median age
- 23.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 53%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 471 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $47,045
- Average household income
- $57,605
- Median home value
- $117,800
- Jobs located here
- 472
- Daytime population
- 1,845Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County. 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 South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Buffalo County marked.
Top counties in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lincoln County, SD | 97 | 77 | 27.6 | $1.6M | +17.5% | #1 of 2,405 |
| 2Union County, SD | 80 | 34 | 46.5 | $927K | +3.3% | #129 of 2,405 |
| 3Meade County, SD | 79 | 44 | 36.8 | $1.1M | +2.7% | #147 of 2,405 |
| 4Minnehaha County, SD | 64 | 456 | 53.8 | $738K | +7.6% | #584 of 2,405 |
| 5Beadle County, SD | 62 | 31 | 41.1 | $869K | +2.4% | #661 of 2,405 |
| 6Brown County, SD | 57 | 74 | 45.4 | $822K | −1.7% | #858 of 2,405 |
| 7Brookings County, SD | 57 | 77 | 55.8 | $673K | +9.6% | #877 of 2,405 |
| 8Butte County, SD | 55 | 22 | 51.1 | $752K | +5.5% | #955 of 2,405 |
| 9Pennington County, SD | 50 | 262 | 56.5 | $680K | +6.6% | #1,177 of 2,405 |
| 10Lake County, SD | 46 | 23 | 48.8 | $798K | −0.2% | #1,348 of 2,405 |
| Buffalo County, SD | Not scored | 2 | 39.4 | $761K | −6.8% |
Other business types in Buffalo County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Buffalo County, SD?
As of September 2026, map listings count 2 sit-down restaurants in Buffalo County. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. No official count is published for full-service restaurants in Buffalo County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Buffalo County, SD spend on food away from home?
About $1.5M a year, or $2,995 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $761K 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 508 households in Buffalo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Buffalo County, SD compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Buffalo County has 2 sit-down restaurants on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending.
How fast is Buffalo County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Buffalo County at 1,802 people in 2025, down 6.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 508 households. Median household income in Buffalo County is $47,045, 42% 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. 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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.