Food and drink · County · Arkansas
Restaurants and cafes in Drew County, AR
How Drew County, AR compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 23 out of 100: Low
Ranked #2,226 of 2,405 scored counties
#52 of 61 scored counties in Arkansas
- Listings
- 71
- 25 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 28
- −3.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $20.9M
- On food away from home · $2,902 a household
- Spending per listing
- $294K
- 21% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 98.7
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 17,054
- −1.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Drew County
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 Drew County. 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
Drew County scores 23 (low) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #2,226 of 2,405 scored counties and #52 of 61 scored counties in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Drew County spend about $20.9M a year on food away from home, or $2,902 per household, 29% below the U.S. average. Spread across 71 restaurants and cafes, that is $294K per restaurant, 21% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Drew County has 71 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 98.7, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 28 businesses with payroll in Drew County classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 257 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $60K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Drew County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Drew County declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Drew County 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.
| Measure | Drew County | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 98.7 | 98.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $294K | $345K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 257 | 238 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.4% | +8.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,902 | $3,400 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $42,824 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 23 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 29 → 28−3.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 493
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7125 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 56The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $60K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Drew County, 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 Drew County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 17,054−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 7,196
- Median age
- 36.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 829 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 21
- Median household income
- $42,824−8.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $66,944
- Median home value
- $140,800
- Jobs located here
- 6,850
- Daytime population
- 16,915Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Drew County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Drew County. 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 Arkansas
Every Arkansas market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Arkansas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with Drew County marked.
Top counties in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Madison County, AR | 80 | 35 | 54.2 | $594K | +11.2% | #135 of 2,405 |
| 2Saline County, AR | 79 | 347 | 69.1 | $549K | +7.6% | #153 of 2,405 |
| 3Perry County, AR | 78 | 15 | 36.6 | $895K | +3.1% | #164 of 2,405 |
| 4Grant County, AR | 77 | 45 | 64.5 | $552K | +4.1% | #198 of 2,405 |
| 5Marion County, AR | 73 | 34 | 44.4 | $663K | +4.3% | #286 of 2,405 |
| 6Lonoke County, AR | 72 | 214 | 74.9 | $486K | +3.5% | #349 of 2,405 |
| 7Fulton County, AR | 71 | 22 | 46.2 | $606K | +3.7% | #362 of 2,405 |
| 8Hot Spring County, AR | 65 | 67 | 54.4 | $577K | +1.1% | #536 of 2,405 |
| 9Benton County, AR | 65 | 1,238 | 110.6 | $391K | +16.0% | #579 of 2,405 |
| 10Logan County, AR | 63 | 61 | 71.6 | $460K | +2.5% | #631 of 2,405 |
| 52Drew County, AR | 23 | 71 | 98.7 | $294K | −1.5% | #2,226 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Drew County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes23
- Sit-down restaurants24
- Fast food and sandwich shops15
- Pizza23
- Coffee shops and cafes
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Drew County, AR?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 71 restaurants and cafes in Drew County. 25 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 3.4% from 2019. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Drew County, AR spend on food away from home?
About $20.9M a year, or $2,902 per household. That is 29% below the U.S. average (an index of 71, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 71 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $294K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,196 households in Drew County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Drew County, AR compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Drew County has 98.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $294K, 21% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Drew County would have about 56, against 71 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 257 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Drew County, AR growing?
Population estimates put Drew County at 17,054 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,196 households. Median household income in Drew County is $42,824, 47% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median fell 8.9%, 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. Drew County scores 23 for restaurants and cafes (low), #2,226 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Drew County. 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 Drew County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Drew County?
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 Drew County. 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.