Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Wyoming

Sit-down restaurants in the Rock Springs, WY area

How the Rock Springs, WY 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #287 of 538 scored small-town markets
#4 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Wyoming

Listings
93
38 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
35
+6.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$66.4M
On food away from home · $3,792 a household
Spending per listing
$714K
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
53.1
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
41,267
−2.2% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs 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

Households in the Rock Springs area spend about $66.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,792 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 93 sit-down restaurants, that is $714K per restaurant, 8% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.

The Rock Springs area has 93 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 38 are chain locations, or 41%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 53.1, 13% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Rock Springs area was 35 in 2023, up 6.1% from 2019. That is one for every 500 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $211K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Rock Springs area.

Population estimates show the Rock Springs area declined 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For sit-down restaurants, the Rock Springs area has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #287 of 538 scored small-town markets and #4 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Wyoming.

How the Rock Springs area compares

The same measures for Wyoming 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 Rock Springs, WY area compared with Wyoming and the U.S.
MeasureRock Springs areaWyomingU.S.
Listings per 10k households53.155.261.3
Spending per listing$714K$691K$664K
Households per official establishment500461500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.1%−7.0%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.2%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,792$3,811$4,070
Median household income$75,034$76,176$80,734
Groundwork market score4837

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
35+6.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
600
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9338 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
100The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$211K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
41,267−2.2% since 2020
Households
17,502
Median age
38.0
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
10,427 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4
Median household income
$75,034+0.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,925
Median home value
$251,400
Jobs located here
21,166
Daytime population
41,848Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Sit-down restaurants across Wyoming

Every Wyoming market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Wyoming

Small-town markets in Wyoming ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Gillette, WY679150.6$813K+2.1%#94 of 538
2Laramie, WY647644.5$784K+3.9%#122 of 538
3Cody, WY518060.0$616K+5.1%#261 of 538
4Rock Springs, WY489353.1$714K−2.2%#287 of 538
5Sheridan, WY488359.9$607K+7.2%#295 of 538
6Evanston, WY-UT426575.2$506K+2.0%#357 of 538
7Riverton, WY408355.2$629K+0.7%#375 of 538
8Jackson, WY-ID39169116.5$434K+4.2%#392 of 538

Other business types in the Rock Springs area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Rock Springs, WY area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 93 sit-down restaurants in the Rock Springs area. 38 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 6.1% from 2019. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Rock Springs, WY area spend on food away from home?

About $66.4M a year, or $3,792 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 93 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $714K 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 17,502 households in the Rock Springs area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Rock Springs, WY area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Rock Springs area has 53.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $714K, 8% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Rock Springs area would have about 100, against 93 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 500 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Rock Springs, WY area growing?

Population estimates put the Rock Springs area at 41,267 people in 2025, down 2.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,502 households. Median household income in the Rock Springs area is $75,034, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 0.3%, 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 Rock Springs area scores 48 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #287 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 Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs 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.