Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Texas

Sit-down restaurants in the Vernon, TX area

How the Vernon, TX 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 13 out of 100: Low

Ranked #533 of 538 scored small-town markets
#39 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas

Listings
31
11 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$14.8M
On food away from home · $3,097 a household
Spending per listing
$477K
28% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
64.9
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
12,481
−2.8% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Vernon 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 Vernon area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 Vernon area is 13 (low), #533 of 538 scored small-town markets and #39 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

At $3,097 per household (24% below the U.S. average), households in the Vernon area spend about $14.8M a year on food away from home. That is about $477K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 28% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

There are 31 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Vernon area as of September 2026. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 35%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 64.9, 6% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Vernon area in 2023. That is one for every 434 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $295K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Vernon area. Population estimates put the population change in the Vernon area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Vernon area compares

The same measures for Texas 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 Vernon, TX area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureVernon areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households64.969.061.3
Spending per listing$477K$575K$664K
Households per official establishment434528500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.9%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.8%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,097$3,970$4,070
Median household income$54,102$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score1346

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11
Employees, 2023
133
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3111 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$295K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Vernon 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 Vernon area

Population, 2025 estimate
12,481−2.8% since 2020
Households
4,778
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
971 sq. mi.
People per square mile
13
Median household income
$54,102+19.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$69,486
Median home value
$89,400
Jobs located here
5,461
Daytime population
11,849Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Vernon 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 Vernon area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Sit-down restaurants across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Texas for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Vernon area marked.

Top small-town markets in Texas

Small-town markets in Texas ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Bonham, TX806450.1$738K+9.2%#19 of 538
2Granbury, TX7413452.5$776K+13.6%#52 of 538
3Andrews, TX693855.5$690K+1.6%#83 of 538
4Corsicana, TX6410856.7$607K+8.2%#128 of 538
5Jacksonville, TX639451.7$657K+5.4%#138 of 538
6Paris, TX5611947.6$702K+2.6%#209 of 538
7Lufkin, TX5317554.2$615K+1.9%#242 of 538
8Gainesville, TX5310563.5$605K+6.5%#243 of 538
9Huntsville, TX5113050.0$618K+9.5%#260 of 538
10Kerrville, TX4912655.7$657K+2.5%#274 of 538
39Vernon, TX133164.9$477K−2.8%#533 of 538

Other business types in the Vernon area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Vernon, TX area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 31 sit-down restaurants in the Vernon area. 11 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

How much do households in the Vernon, TX area spend on food away from home?

About $14.8M a year, or $3,097 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $477K 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 4,778 households in the Vernon area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Vernon, TX area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Vernon area has 64.9 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $477K, 28% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Vernon area would have about 22, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 434 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is the Vernon, TX area growing?

Population estimates put the Vernon area at 12,481 people in 2025, down 2.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,778 households. Median household income in the Vernon area is $54,102, 33% 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 Vernon area scores 13 for sit-down restaurants (low), #533 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 Vernon 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 Vernon area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Vernon 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 Vernon 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.