Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Alabama

Restaurants and cafes in the Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area

The restaurants and cafes in the Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #301 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
384
188 chain locations (49%)
Official establishments
194
+6.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$142.6M
On food away from home · $3,168 a household
Spending per listing
$371K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
85.3
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
115,834
−0.3% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Anniston-Oxford metro area

The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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 Anniston-Oxford metro 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 restaurants and cafes in the Anniston-Oxford metro area is 34 (lower middle), #301 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on food away from home in the Anniston-Oxford metro area comes to about $142.6M a year: $3,168 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $371K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 384 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Anniston-Oxford metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 49% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 85.3, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Anniston-Oxford metro area was 194 in 2023, up 6.6% from 2019. That is one for every 232 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $420K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Anniston-Oxford metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Anniston-Oxford metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Anniston-Oxford metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Restaurants and cafes in Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureAnniston-Oxford metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households85.392.0109.8
Spending per listing$371K$382K$371K
Households per official establishment232246209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.6%+7.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,168$3,519$4,070
Median household income$55,029$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score3459

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
194+6.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,425
Annual payroll, 2023
$77.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
31Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
384188 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
385The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$420K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Anniston-Oxford metro 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 Anniston-Oxford metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
115,834−0.3% since 2020
Households
45,015
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
606 sq. mi.
People per square mile
192
Median household income
$55,029+16.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,223
Median home value
$156,600
Jobs located here
42,167
Daytime population
116,114Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Anniston-Oxford metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Anniston-Oxford metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Anniston-Oxford metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Huntsville, AL772,05599.8$413K+12.5%#33 of 387
2Decatur, AL7149879.5$450K+2.5%#52 of 387
3Tuscaloosa, AL6586081.4$423K+2.9%#93 of 387
4Birmingham, AL514,53197.4$385K+1.4%#185 of 387
5Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL4855887.8$386K+3.5%#203 of 387
6Montgomery, AL441,40893.0$375K+0.9%#230 of 387
7Auburn-Opelika, AL4372594.6$371K+7.1%#238 of 387
8Mobile, AL381,54595.6$352K−0.7%#275 of 387
9Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL371,282130.1$297K+14.8%#285 of 387
10Gadsden, AL3533384.5$371K+0.4%#290 of 387
11Anniston-Oxford, AL3438485.3$371K−0.3%#301 of 387

Other business types in the Anniston-Oxford metro area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 384 restaurants and cafes in the Anniston-Oxford metro area. 188 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 194 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 6.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 31 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area spend on food away from home?

About $142.6M a year, or $3,168 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 384 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $371K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 45,015 households in the Anniston-Oxford metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Anniston-Oxford metro area has 85.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $371K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Anniston-Oxford metro area would have about 385, against 384 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 232 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Anniston-Oxford, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Anniston-Oxford metro area at 115,834 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 45,015 households. Median household income in the Anniston-Oxford metro area is $55,029, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.5%, 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. The Anniston-Oxford metro area scores 34 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #301 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Anniston-Oxford metro area. It maps the restaurants and cafes 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 restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in the Anniston-Oxford metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Anniston-Oxford metro 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 Anniston-Oxford metro 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.