Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Arkansas

Restaurants and cafes in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area

How the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #167 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas

Listings
2,405
958 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
1,026
+14.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$864.9M
On food away from home · $4,012 a household
Spending per listing
$360K
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
111.6
2% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
622,177
+13.1% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 2,405 restaurants and cafes in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area. 958 of them (40%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 111.6 per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area spend about $864.9M a year on food away from home, or $4,012 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $360K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 3% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area was 1,026 in 2023, up 14.0% from 2019. That is one for every 210 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 255 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 44 SBA-backed loans worth $18.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area.

Population estimates show the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area grew 13.1% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area is 54 (upper middle), #167 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas.

How the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureFayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households111.698.5109.8
Spending per listing$360K$345K$371K
Households per official establishment210238209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+14.0%+8.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+13.1%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,012$3,400$4,070
Median household income$81,650$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score5443

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,026+14.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
22,574
Annual payroll, 2023
$484.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
255Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,405958 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,332The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
44
Amount
$18.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
622,177+13.1% since 2020
Households
215,566
Median age
36.1
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,624 sq. mi.
People per square mile
220
Median household income
$81,650+41.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,263
Median home value
$307,200
Jobs located here
282,187
Daytime population
595,846Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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 metro areas in Arkansas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Arkansas

Metro areas in Arkansas ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR542,405111.6$360K+13.1%#167 of 387
2Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR463,06398.3$366K+3.8%#216 of 387
Memphis, TN-MS-AR355,489105.0$346K−0.3%#295 of 387
3Fort Smith, AR-OK30942103.5$317K+3.1%#336 of 387
4Jonesboro, AR27571107.3$309K+3.6%#343 of 387
Texarkana, TX-AR17616109.5$296K−0.4%#378 of 387
5Hot Springs, AR9504115.4$280K−0.6%#386 of 387

Other business types in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area?

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area has 2,405 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 958 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,026 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 14.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 255 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area spend on food away from home?

About $864.9M a year, or $4,012 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,405 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $360K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 215,566 households in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area has 111.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $360K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area would have about 2,332, against 2,405 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 210 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area at 622,177 people in 2025, up 13.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 215,566 households. The median household income in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area is $81,650 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 41.8% 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. 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area scores 54 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #167 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro 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.