Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Arkansas

Restaurants and cafes in Phillips County, AR

The restaurants and cafes in Phillips County, AR, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 28 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #2,094 of 2,405 scored counties
#46 of 61 scored counties in Arkansas

Listings
51
14 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
18
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$16.4M
On food away from home · $2,716 a household
Spending per listing
$321K
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
84.7
23% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
14,255
−13.0% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Phillips 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 Phillips County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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, Phillips County has a Groundwork market score of 28 (lower middle): #2,094 of 2,405 scored counties and #46 of 61 scored counties in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

As of September 2026, map listings count 51 restaurants and cafes in Phillips County. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 84.7, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Phillips County comes to about $16.4M a year: $2,716 per household, 33% below the U.S. average. Spread across 51 restaurants and cafes, that is $321K per restaurant, 13% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Phillips County was 18 in 2023. That is one for every 335 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $251K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Phillips County. Population estimates put the population change in Phillips County from 2020 to 2025 at −13.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Phillips 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Phillips County, AR compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasurePhillips CountyArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households84.798.5109.8
Spending per listing$321K$345K$371K
Households per official establishment335238209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−13.0%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,716$3,400$4,070
Median household income$40,134$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score2843

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19 → 18
Employees, 2023
220
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
16Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5114 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
44The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$251K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Phillips 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 Phillips County

Population, 2025 estimate
14,255−13.0% since 2020
Households
6,023
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
51%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
690 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$40,134+36.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$54,873
Median home value
$78,200
Jobs located here
4,448
Daytime population
14,386Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Restaurants 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 Phillips County marked.

Top counties in Arkansas

Counties in Arkansas ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Madison County, AR803554.2$594K+11.2%#135 of 2,405
2Saline County, AR7934769.1$549K+7.6%#153 of 2,405
3Perry County, AR781536.6$895K+3.1%#164 of 2,405
4Grant County, AR774564.5$552K+4.1%#198 of 2,405
5Marion County, AR733444.4$663K+4.3%#286 of 2,405
6Lonoke County, AR7221474.9$486K+3.5%#349 of 2,405
7Fulton County, AR712246.2$606K+3.7%#362 of 2,405
8Hot Spring County, AR656754.4$577K+1.1%#536 of 2,405
9Benton County, AR651,238110.6$391K+16.0%#579 of 2,405
10Logan County, AR636171.6$460K+2.5%#631 of 2,405
46Phillips County, AR285184.7$321K−13.0%#2,094 of 2,405

Other business types in Phillips County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Phillips County, AR?

Phillips County has 51 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 14 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 16 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Phillips County, AR spend on food away from home?

About $16.4M a year, or $2,716 per household. That is 33% below the U.S. average (an index of 67, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 51 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $321K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,023 households in Phillips County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Phillips County, AR compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Phillips County has 84.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $321K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Phillips County would have about 44, against 51 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 335 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Phillips County, AR growing?

Population estimates put Phillips County at 14,255 people in 2025, down 13.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,023 households. The median household income in Phillips County is $40,134 a year, 50% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.9% 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. Phillips County scores 28 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #2,094 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Phillips 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 Phillips County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Phillips 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 Phillips 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.