Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Arkansas

Restaurants and cafes in the Arkadelphia, AR area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Arkadelphia, AR area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 22 out of 100: Low

Ranked #505 of 538 scored small-town markets
#13 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas

Listings
88
43 chain locations (49%)
Official establishments
35
−16.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$25.4M
On food away from home · $3,122 a household
Spending per listing
$288K
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
108.4
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,938
−2.2% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Arkadelphia 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 Arkadelphia 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

For restaurants and cafes, the Arkadelphia area has a Groundwork market score of 22 (low): #505 of 538 scored small-town markets and #13 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 88 restaurants and cafes in the Arkadelphia area. Of those, 43 are chain locations, or 49%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 108.4 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,122 per household (23% below the U.S. average), households in the Arkadelphia area spend about $25.4M a year on food away from home. Spread across 88 restaurants and cafes, that is $288K per restaurant, 22% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Arkadelphia area in 2023, down 16.7% from 2019. That is one for every 232 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Arkadelphia area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Arkadelphia area compares

The same measures for Arkansas 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 Arkadelphia, AR area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureArkadelphia areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households108.498.5109.8
Spending per listing$288K$345K$371K
Households per official establishment232238209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−16.7%+8.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.2%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,122$3,400$4,070
Median household income$52,034$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score2243

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
35−16.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
710
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
11Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8843 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
68The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
20,938−2.2% since 2020
Households
8,121
Median age
36.6
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
866 sq. mi.
People per square mile
24
Median household income
$52,034+25.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,512
Median home value
$155,000
Jobs located here
7,786
Daytime population
20,730Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arkansas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with the Arkadelphia area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arkansas

Small-town markets in Arkansas ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Malvern, AR746754.4$577K+1.1%#54 of 538
2Harrison, AR5915181.4$385K+2.4%#177 of 538
3Paragould, AR5316189.5$359K+3.4%#234 of 538
4Russellville, AR5228486.9$373K+1.6%#242 of 538
5Camden, AR478683.4$370K−3.6%#289 of 538
6Batesville, AR4713692.9$347K+2.2%#293 of 538
7Searcy, AR4727994.2$335K+4.2%#297 of 538
8Mountain Home, AR4517188.4$343K+3.1%#320 of 538
9Pine Bluff, AR4023085.3$357K−5.6%#373 of 538
10Blytheville, AR2515399.0$323K−6.7%#482 of 538
13Arkadelphia, AR2288108.4$288K−2.2%#505 of 538

Other business types in the Arkadelphia area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Arkadelphia, AR area?

There are 88 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Arkadelphia area as of September 2026. 43 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 16.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Arkadelphia, AR area spend on food away from home?

About $25.4M a year, or $3,122 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 88 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $288K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,121 households in the Arkadelphia area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Arkadelphia, AR area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Arkadelphia area has 108.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $288K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Arkadelphia area would have about 68, against 88 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 fell 16.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Arkadelphia, AR area growing?

Population estimates put the Arkadelphia area at 20,938 people in 2025, down 2.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,121 households. The median household income in the Arkadelphia area is $52,034 a year, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.0% 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 Arkadelphia area scores 22 for restaurants and cafes (low), #505 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 Arkadelphia 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 Arkadelphia area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Arkadelphia 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 Arkadelphia 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.