Food and drink · County · South Dakota
Sit-down restaurants in Davison County, SD
How Davison County, SD compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,835 of 2,405 scored counties
#15 of 18 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 51
- 20 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 18
- −30.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $31.6M
- On food away from home · $3,547 a household
- Spending per listing
- $619K
- 7% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 57.3
- 7% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 20,069
- +0.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Davison 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 Davison 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
For sit-down restaurants, Davison County has a Groundwork market score of 35 (lower middle): #1,835 of 2,405 scored counties and #15 of 18 scored counties in South Dakota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Davison County spend about $31.6M a year on food away from home, or $3,547 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. That is about $619K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 51 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Davison County as of September 2026. Of those, 20 are chain locations, or 39%, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 57.3 for every 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Davison County was 18 in 2023, down 30.8% from 2019. That is one for every 494 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.4M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Davison County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Davison County grew 0.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Davison 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 | Davison County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 57.3 | 52.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $619K | $737K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 494 | 542 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −30.8% | −5.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,547 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $66,208 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 26 → 18−30.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 357
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5120 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 48The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Davison 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 Davison County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 20,069+0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 8,899
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 436 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 46
- Median household income
- $66,208+30.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,188
- Median home value
- $205,800
- Jobs located here
- 12,476
- Daytime population
- 21,213Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Davison 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 Davison 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 Davison 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 |
| 15Davison County, SD | 35 | 51 | 57.3 | $619K | +0.6% | #1,835 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Davison County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes28
- Sit-down restaurants35
- Fast food and sandwich shops25
- Pizza40
- Coffee shops and cafes23
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Davison County, SD?
As of September 2026, map listings count 51 sit-down restaurants in Davison County. 20 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 30.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Davison County, SD spend on food away from home?
About $31.6M a year, or $3,547 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 51 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $619K 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 8,899 households in Davison County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Davison County, SD compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Davison County has 57.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $619K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Davison County would have about 48, against 51 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 494 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 30.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is Davison County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Davison County at 20,069 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,899 households. Median household income in Davison County is $66,208, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.9%, 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. Davison County scores 35 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,835 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Davison 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 Davison County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Davison 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 Davison 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.