Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Virginia

Sit-down restaurants in Sussex County, VA

The sit-down restaurants in Sussex County, VA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,534 of 2,405 scored counties
#78 of 115 scored counties in Virginia

Listings
19
10 chain locations (53%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$12.9M
On food away from home · $3,417 a household
Spending per listing
$681K
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
50.2
18% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
10,755
−0.4% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $3,417 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in Sussex County spend about $12.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $681K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

Sussex County has 19 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 53% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 50.2, 18% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Sussex County in 2023. That is one for every 631 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Sussex County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For sit-down restaurants, Sussex County has a Groundwork market score of 42 (lower middle): #1,534 of 2,405 scored counties and #78 of 115 scored counties in Virginia.

How Sussex County compares

The same measures for Virginia 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 Sussex County, VA compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureSussex CountyVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households50.257.161.3
Spending per listing$681K$765K$664K
Households per official establishment631470500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.1%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,417$4,372$4,070
Median household income$63,530$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score4266

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 6
Employees, 2023
80
Annual payroll, 2023
$2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1910 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The 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 Sussex 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 Sussex County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,755−0.4% since 2020
Households
3,785
Median age
41.1
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
490 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$63,530+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,506
Median home value
$183,800
Jobs located here
3,265
Daytime population
9,408Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Sit-down restaurants across Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

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

Top counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fluvanna County, VA941716.5$2.6M+6.2%#6 of 2,405
2King George County, VA943332.6$1.5M+10.5%#7 of 2,405
3Caroline County, VA913025.0$1.6M+11.3%#15 of 2,405
4Stafford County, VA9121240.5$1.3M+8.3%#16 of 2,405
5Louisa County, VA904730.2$1.3M+13.6%#22 of 2,405
6Goochland County, VA892827.1$1.9M+17.4%#25 of 2,405
7Frederick County, VA8813437.9$1.2M+8.8%#42 of 2,405
8Dinwiddie County, VA871917.8$2.1M+3.6%#45 of 2,405
9Madison County, VA871221.9$1.8M+2.7%#46 of 2,405
10Powhatan County, VA873127.4$1.7M+7.0%#47 of 2,405
78Sussex County, VA421950.2$681K−0.4%#1,534 of 2,405

Other business types in Sussex County

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Sussex County, VA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 sit-down restaurants in Sussex County. 10 of them (53%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

How much do households in Sussex County, VA spend on food away from home?

About $12.9M a year, or $3,417 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $681K 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 3,785 households in Sussex County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Sussex County has 50.2 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $681K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Sussex County would have about 20, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 631 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Sussex County, VA growing?

Population estimates put Sussex County at 10,755 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,785 households. Median household income in Sussex County is $63,530, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.4%, 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. 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. Sussex County scores 42 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #1,534 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Sussex 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 Sussex County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Sussex 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 Sussex 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.