Food and drink · Metro area · California
Restaurants and cafes in the Merced, CA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Merced, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 68 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #73 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 729
- 325 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 335
- +12.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $304.4M
- On food away from home · $3,537 a household
- Spending per listing
- $418K
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 84.7
- 23% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 297,260
- +5.1% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Merced 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 Merced metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 729 restaurants and cafes in the Merced metro area. 325 of them (45%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 84.7 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $3,537 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the Merced metro area spend about $304.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $418K per restaurant, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 335 businesses with payroll in the Merced metro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 12.0% from 2019. That is one for every 257 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 84 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $9.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Merced metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Merced metro area grew 5.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Merced metro area is 68 (upper middle), #73 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Merced metro area compares
The same measures for California 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 | Merced metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 84.7 | 128.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $418K | $355K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 257 | 170 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.0% | +3.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,537 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,510 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 68 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 335+12.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,977
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $135.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 84Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 729325 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 821The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 17
- Amount
- $9.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Merced 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 Merced metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 297,260+5.1% since 2020
- Households
- 86,055
- Median age
- 32.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,938 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 150
- Median household income
- $65,510+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,781
- Median home value
- $391,800
- Jobs located here
- 77,775
- Daytime population
- 255,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Merced 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 Merced metro 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in California, with the Merced metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba City, CA | 81 | 464 | 74.9 | $520K | +3.3% | #11 of 387 |
| 2Stockton-Lodi, CA | 69 | 2,489 | 101.5 | $423K | +5.5% | #65 of 387 |
| 3Merced, CA | 68 | 729 | 84.7 | $418K | +5.1% | #73 of 387 |
| 4Vallejo, CA | 67 | 1,544 | 98.0 | $460K | +0.6% | #77 of 387 |
| 5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 56 | 8,773 | 129.0 | $446K | −0.6% | #146 of 387 |
| 6Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 55 | 15,275 | 105.3 | $400K | +3.5% | #153 of 387 |
| 7Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 55 | 9,900 | 112.3 | $396K | +3.2% | #154 of 387 |
| 8Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 51 | 3,192 | 113.9 | $420K | −1.5% | #183 of 387 |
| 9Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 49 | 413 | 93.8 | $390K | +1.0% | #195 of 387 |
| 10Redding, CA | 45 | 693 | 97.3 | $389K | −0.3% | #218 of 387 |
Other business types in the Merced metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes68
- Sit-down restaurants66
- Fast food and sandwich shops47
- Pizza50
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Merced, CA metro area?
The Merced metro area has 729 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 325 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 335 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 12.0% from 2019. Official counts list 84 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Merced, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $304.4M a year, or $3,537 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 729 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $418K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,055 households in the Merced metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Merced, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Merced metro area has 84.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $418K, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Merced metro area would have about 821, against 729 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 rose 12.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Merced, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Merced metro area at 297,260 people in 2025, up 5.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,055 households. The median household income in the Merced metro area is $65,510 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.1% 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 Merced metro area scores 68 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #73 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 Merced 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 Merced metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Merced 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 Merced 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.