Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Arkansas

Restaurants and cafes in the Russellville, AR area

How the Russellville, 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 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #242 of 538 scored small-town markets
#4 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas

Listings
284
116 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
132
+10.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$106M
On food away from home · $3,243 a household
Spending per listing
$373K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
86.9
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
84,932
+1.6% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in the Russellville area comes to about $106M a year: $3,243 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. That works out to $373K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 284 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Russellville area as of September 2026. Of those, 116 are chain locations, or 41%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 86.9, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 132 businesses with payroll in the Russellville area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 10.9% from 2019. That is one for every 248 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 24 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Russellville area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Russellville area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Russellville area is 52 (upper middle), #242 of 538 scored small-town markets and #4 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas.

How the Russellville 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 Russellville, AR area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureRussellville areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households86.998.5109.8
Spending per listing$373K$345K$371K
Households per official establishment248238209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.9%+8.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,243$3,400$4,070
Median household income$57,102$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score5243

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
132+10.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,382
Annual payroll, 2023
$44.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
24Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
284116 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
286The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.1M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
84,932+1.6% since 2020
Households
32,671
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,741 sq. mi.
People per square mile
48
Median household income
$57,102+30.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,829
Median home value
$165,100
Jobs located here
34,546
Daytime population
84,258Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Russellville 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 Russellville 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 Russellville 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

Other business types in the Russellville area

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

Questions

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 284 restaurants and cafes in the Russellville area. 116 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 132 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 10.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 24 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $106M a year, or $3,243 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 284 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $373K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 32,671 households in the Russellville area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Russellville area has 86.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $373K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Russellville area would have about 286, against 284 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 248 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Russellville, AR area growing?

Population estimates put the Russellville area at 84,932 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,671 households. Median household income in the Russellville area is $57,102, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.9%, 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. 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 Russellville area scores 52 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #242 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 Russellville 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 Russellville area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Russellville 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 Russellville 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.