Food and drink · Small-town market · Alabama
Restaurants and cafes in the Scottsboro, AL area
How the Scottsboro, AL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 75 out of 100: High
Ranked #50 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama
- Listings
- 136
- 52 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 65
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $68M
- On food away from home · $3,118 a household
- Spending per listing
- $500K
- 35% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 62.4
- 43% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,281
- +3.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Scottsboro 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 Scottsboro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For restaurants and cafes, the Scottsboro area has a Groundwork market score of 75 (high): #50 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Alabama. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for restaurants and cafes.
As of September 2026, map listings count 136 restaurants and cafes in the Scottsboro area. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 62.4 per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $3,118 per household (23% below the U.S. average), households in the Scottsboro area spend about $68M a year on food away from home. That is about $500K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 65 businesses with payroll in the Scottsboro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 335 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $998K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Scottsboro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Scottsboro area grew 3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Scottsboro 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.
| Measure | Scottsboro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 62.4 | 92.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $500K | $382K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 335 | 246 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +7.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,118 | $3,519 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,908 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 75 | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 650.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,051
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 19Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 13652 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 183The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $998K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Scottsboro 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 Scottsboro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 54,281+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 21,795
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,078 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 49
- Median household income
- $51,908+24.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $70,531
- Median home value
- $159,500
- Jobs located here
- 15,481
- Daytime population
- 47,263Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Scottsboro 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 restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Scottsboro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Alabama, with the Scottsboro area marked.
Top small-town markets in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cullman, AL | 76 | 271 | 76.7 | $446K | +6.7% | #47 of 538 |
| 2Scottsboro, AL | 75 | 136 | 62.4 | $500K | +3.3% | #50 of 538 |
| 3Talladega-Sylacauga, AL | 70 | 229 | 60.2 | $526K | 0.0% | #78 of 538 |
| 4Russellville, AL | 66 | 81 | 67.8 | $453K | +1.1% | #108 of 538 |
| 5Ozark, AL | 64 | 154 | 78.1 | $405K | +1.3% | #132 of 538 |
| 6Fort Payne, AL | 62 | 204 | 77.9 | $386K | +3.4% | #153 of 538 |
| 7Enterprise, AL | 60 | 191 | 91.0 | $392K | +6.3% | #169 of 538 |
| 8Alexander City, AL | 59 | 129 | 75.5 | $429K | −0.8% | #174 of 538 |
| 9Selma, AL | 57 | 88 | 55.2 | $475K | −7.9% | #187 of 538 |
| 10Albertville, AL | 52 | 361 | 99.0 | $350K | +6.0% | #248 of 538 |
Other business types in the Scottsboro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes75
- Sit-down restaurants69
- Fast food and sandwich shops53
- Pizza64
- Coffee shops and cafes78
- Bakeries and dessert shops78
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many restaurants and cafes are in the Scottsboro, AL area?
The Scottsboro area has 136 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 52 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 65 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 19 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Scottsboro, AL area spend on food away from home?
About $68M a year, or $3,118 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 136 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $500K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 21,795 households in the Scottsboro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Scottsboro, AL area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Scottsboro area has 62.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $500K, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Scottsboro area would have about 183, against 136 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 335 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Scottsboro, AL area growing?
Population estimates put the Scottsboro area at 54,281 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 21,795 households. The median household income in the Scottsboro area is $51,908 a year, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.3% 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. 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 Scottsboro area scores 75 for restaurants and cafes (high), #50 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 Scottsboro 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 Scottsboro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Scottsboro 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 Scottsboro 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.