Food and drink · Small-town market · Arizona
Restaurants and cafes in the Show Low, AZ area
How the Show Low, AZ 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 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #319 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona
- Listings
- 363
- 129 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 167
- +3.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $125.1M
- On food away from home · $3,123 a household
- Spending per listing
- $345K
- 7% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 90.6
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 109,946
- +3.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Show Low 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 Show Low 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 363 restaurants and cafes in the Show Low area. Of those, 129 are chain locations, or 36%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 90.6 for every 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in the Show Low area spend about $125.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,123 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $345K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 167 businesses with payroll in the Show Low area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 240 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 59 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $6.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Show Low area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Show Low area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Show Low area scores 45 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #319 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona.
How the Show Low area compares
The same measures for Arizona 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 | Show Low area | Arizona | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 90.6 | 95.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $345K | $415K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 240 | 239 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.7% | +11.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.0% | +6.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,123 | $3,982 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $54,606 | $79,964 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 167+3.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,760
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $62.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 59Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 363129 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 337The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 10
- Amount
- $6.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Show Low 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 Show Low area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 109,946+3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 40,063
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 9,950 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 11
- Median household income
- $54,606+36.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,874
- Median home value
- $201,500
- Jobs located here
- 26,234
- Daytime population
- 104,760Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Show Low 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 Show Low 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 Arizona
Every Arizona market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arizona for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Show Low area marked.
Top small-town markets in Arizona
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Safford, AZ | 75 | 82 | 64.3 | $542K | +4.0% | #49 of 538 |
| 2Show Low, AZ | 45 | 363 | 90.6 | $345K | +3.0% | #319 of 538 |
| 3Payson, AZ | 42 | 235 | 99.4 | $337K | +0.9% | #354 of 538 |
| 4Nogales, AZ | 37 | 195 | 114.9 | $277K | +4.8% | #401 of 538 |
Other business types in the Show Low area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes45
- Sit-down restaurants39
- Fast food and sandwich shops41
- Pizza50
- Coffee shops and cafes45
- Bakeries and dessert shops65
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 Show Low, AZ area?
The Show Low area has 363 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 129 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 167 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. Another 59 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Show Low, AZ area spend on food away from home?
About $125.1M a year, or $3,123 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 363 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $345K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 40,063 households in the Show Low area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Show Low, AZ area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Show Low area has 90.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $345K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Show Low area would have about 337, against 363 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 240 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Show Low, AZ area growing?
Population estimates put the Show Low area at 109,946 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 40,063 households. The median household income in the Show Low area is $54,606 a year, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.3% 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 Show Low area scores 45 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #319 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 Show Low 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 Show Low area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Show Low 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 Show Low 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.