Food and drink · Small-town market · Arkansas
Restaurants and cafes in the El Dorado, AR area
How the El Dorado, AR 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 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #483 of 538 scored small-town markets
#11 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 151
- 50 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 65
- +4.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $48.2M
- On food away from home · $3,211 a household
- Spending per listing
- $319K
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 100.7
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 36,926
- −5.2% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the El Dorado 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 El Dorado 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
The El Dorado area scores 25 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #483 of 538 scored small-town markets and #11 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on food away from home in the El Dorado area comes to about $48.2M a year: $3,211 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Spread across 151 restaurants and cafes, that is $319K per restaurant, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 151 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the El Dorado area as of September 2026. 50 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 100.7 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the El Dorado area was 65 in 2023, up 4.8% from 2019. That is one for every 231 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $227K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the El Dorado area. Population estimates put the population change in the El Dorado area from 2020 to 2025 at −5.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the El Dorado 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.
| Measure | El Dorado area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 100.7 | 98.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $319K | $345K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 231 | 238 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.8% | +8.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −5.2% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,211 | $3,400 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $55,259 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 65+4.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,040
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 16Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15150 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 130The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $227K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the El Dorado 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 El Dorado area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 36,926−5.2% since 2020
- Households
- 15,002
- Median age
- 40.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,039 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 36
- Median household income
- $55,259+23.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,348
- Median home value
- $120,900
- Jobs located here
- 17,166
- Daytime population
- 38,875Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the El Dorado 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 El Dorado 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 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 El Dorado area marked.
Top small-town markets in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Malvern, AR | 74 | 67 | 54.4 | $577K | +1.1% | #54 of 538 |
| 2Harrison, AR | 59 | 151 | 81.4 | $385K | +2.4% | #177 of 538 |
| 3Paragould, AR | 53 | 161 | 89.5 | $359K | +3.4% | #234 of 538 |
| 4Russellville, AR | 52 | 284 | 86.9 | $373K | +1.6% | #242 of 538 |
| 5Camden, AR | 47 | 86 | 83.4 | $370K | −3.6% | #289 of 538 |
| 6Batesville, AR | 47 | 136 | 92.9 | $347K | +2.2% | #293 of 538 |
| 7Searcy, AR | 47 | 279 | 94.2 | $335K | +4.2% | #297 of 538 |
| 8Mountain Home, AR | 45 | 171 | 88.4 | $343K | +3.1% | #320 of 538 |
| 9Pine Bluff, AR | 40 | 230 | 85.3 | $357K | −5.6% | #373 of 538 |
| 10Blytheville, AR | 25 | 153 | 99.0 | $323K | −6.7% | #482 of 538 |
| 11El Dorado, AR | 25 | 151 | 100.7 | $319K | −5.2% | #483 of 538 |
Other business types in the El Dorado area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes25
- Sit-down restaurants30
- Fast food and sandwich shops20
- Pizza39
- Coffee shops and cafes34
- Bakeries and dessert shops33
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 El Dorado, AR area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 151 restaurants and cafes in the El Dorado area. 50 of them (33%) 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, up 4.8% from 2019. Another 16 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the El Dorado, AR area spend on food away from home?
About $48.2M a year, or $3,211 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 151 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $319K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,002 households in the El Dorado area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the El Dorado, AR area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The El Dorado area has 100.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $319K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the El Dorado area would have about 130, against 151 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 231 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the El Dorado, AR area growing?
Population estimates put the El Dorado area at 36,926 people in 2025, down 5.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,002 households. Median household income in the El Dorado area is $55,259, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.7%, 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 El Dorado area scores 25 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #483 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 El Dorado 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 El Dorado area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Dorado 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 El Dorado 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.