NAICS 722511 · California overview

Full-Service Restaurants in Sierra County

Sierra County had 7 Restaurants establishments in 2023, ranking 57 of 58 California counties and accounting for 0.0% of the statewide total.

Establishments (2023)
7
Rank 57 of 58 counties
Employees
24
Mid-March employment
Annual payroll
$628,000
All establishments
Per 10k residents
22.6
3,098 residents

More recent reading

BLS QCEW, 2026Q1

The figures above are County Business Patterns, which carries the size distribution but runs about two years behind. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes quarterly, so this is the same industry roughly 3 years later. The two count different universes, Census counts establishments with paid employees in the March pay period and BLS counts worksites covered by unemployment insurance during the quarter, so the numbers are not directly comparable and either can be the larger.

Establishments
8
2026Q1
Employment
n/a
Quarter-end level
Average weekly wage
n/a
Per covered worker
Quarterly trend
0.0%
2025Q2 to 2026Q1
Concentration vs the national averageBLS, 2026Q1

2.70 location quotient. Restaurants employment in Sierra County is about 2.7 times more concentrated than in the United States as a whole.

Computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not derived here. Above 1.0 means the industry is a larger share of local employment than of national employment.

Establishments by size

Employee-count distribution for Restaurants in Sierra County.

EmployeesEstablishmentsShareDistribution
1-4571.4%

Establishment trend

Year-over-year establishment counts, County Business Patterns. Net growth of 16.7% since 2020.

YearEstablishmentsChange
20206n/a
20217+1
20225-2
20237+2

How this market compares

Sierra County against every other county in California on the same measure. The median excludes places under 2,000 residents, where per-capita figures are arithmetically true but analytically useless.

Densely served22.6 per 10,000 residents, against a state median of 7.7

Well above the state median for this industry. A crowded market: expect established competitors and price pressure, but also a deeper pool of businesses to buy.

Vs state median
+194%
Businesses per resident
Rank by count
#57
of 58 counties
Rank by density
#2
of 57 ranked
Since 2020
+17%
Change in establishments

Density compares full-service restaurants provision per resident. It does not measure revenue, profitability or whether a market is worth entering.

Business size mix

Sierra is more fragmented than California as a whole: a larger share of very small operators. Fragmented markets are where roll-ups are assembled, and where an owner nearing retirement has no obvious internal buyer.

Share of establishmentsSierraCaliforniaDifference
Under 5 employeesOwner-operated, often no management layer71.4%24.7%+46.7%
5 to 49 employeesThe range most individual buyers target0.0%65.7%-65.7%
10 or more employeesPractical floor for acquisition financing0.0%56.7%-56.7%

What acquirers look at

The highest-turnover category in the index and the weakest lending profile. Lease terms and liquor license transfer usually matter more than the P&L.

Cities in Sierra

The figures above cover the county as a whole. These are the places within it.

Other industries in Sierra

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns. Establishment counts, employment and annual payroll by NAICS. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2026Q1). Quarterly establishment counts and employment for employers covered by unemployment insurance. Retrieved 2026-09-08.