Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Vermont

Sit-down restaurants in Franklin County, VT

How Franklin County, VT 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 76 out of 100: High

Ranked #218 of 2,405 scored counties
#2 of 12 scored counties in Vermont

Listings
67
8 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
28
−17.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$78.1M
On food away from home · $3,913 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
76% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
33.6
45% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
51,177
+2.3% 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.

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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 Franklin County is 76 (high), #218 of 2,405 scored counties and #2 of 12 scored counties in Vermont. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

As of September 2026, map listings count 67 sit-down restaurants in Franklin County. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 12%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 33.6 per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $3,913 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Franklin County spend about $78.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 67 sit-down restaurants, that is $1.2M per restaurant, 76% above the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Franklin County was 28 in 2023, down 17.6% from 2019. That is one for every 713 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $315K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Franklin County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Franklin County grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Franklin County compares

The same measures for Vermont 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, VT compared with Vermont and the U.S.
MeasureFranklin CountyVermontU.S.
Listings per 10k households33.654.361.3
Spending per listing$1.2M$739K$664K
Households per official establishment713460500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−17.6%−8.9%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+0.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,913$4,013$4,070
Median household income$81,313$81,203$80,734
Groundwork market score7645

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
34 → 28−17.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
407
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
678 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
118The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$315K

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
51,177+2.3% since 2020
Households
19,963
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
631 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$81,313+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$98,753
Median home value
$306,700
Jobs located here
17,183
Daytime population
43,124Residents 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.

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Sit-down restaurants across Vermont

Every Vermont market ranked →

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

Top counties in Vermont

Counties in Vermont ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Orange County, VT813527.5$1.4M+2.4%#104 of 2,405
2Franklin County, VT766733.6$1.2M+2.3%#218 of 2,405
3Addison County, VT745134.1$1.2M+1.8%#260 of 2,405
4Caledonia County, VT575441.2$887K+0.8%#851 of 2,405
5Orleans County, VT535142.2$862K+0.7%#1,025 of 2,405
6Chittenden County, VT5042559.5$740K+0.4%#1,167 of 2,405
7Washington County, VT4913953.8$750K−0.2%#1,219 of 2,405
8Windsor County, VT4313955.0$730K−0.7%#1,485 of 2,405
9Bennington County, VT289966.1$584K−1.8%#2,108 of 2,405
10Lamoille County, VT2810184.7$462K+1.4%#2,133 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, VT?

Franklin County has 67 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (12%) 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 17.6% from 2019. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $78.1M a year, or $3,913 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 67 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,963 households in Franklin County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Franklin County has 33.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.2M, 76% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Franklin County would have about 118, against 67 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 713 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 17.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is Franklin County, VT growing?

Population estimates put Franklin County at 51,177 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,963 households. The median household income in Franklin County is $81,313 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.2% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 76 for sit-down restaurants (high), #218 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.