Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · California

Restaurants and cafes in the Redding, CA metro area

How the Redding, CA 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 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #218 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
693
268 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
319
+3.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$269.5M
On food away from home · $3,784 a household
Spending per listing
$389K
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
97.3
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
181,648
−0.3% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 693 restaurants and cafes in the Redding metro area. 268 of them (39%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 97.3 for every 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in the Redding metro area spend about $269.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,784 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That works out to $389K per restaurant, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 319 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Redding metro area in 2023, up 3.2% from 2019. That is one for every 223 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 57 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $10.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Redding metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Redding metro area declined 0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Redding metro area scores 45 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #218 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the Redding 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Redding, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureRedding metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households97.3128.4109.8
Spending per listing$389K$355K$371K
Households per official establishment223170209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.2%+3.9%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,784$4,559$4,070
Median household income$72,636$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score4533

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
319+3.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,392
Annual payroll, 2023
$131.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
57Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
693268 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
727The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
17
Amount
$10.9M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
181,648−0.3% since 2020
Households
71,232
Median age
42.5
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
3,776 sq. mi.
People per square mile
48
Median household income
$72,636+32.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$98,245
Median home value
$366,400
Jobs located here
65,820
Daytime population
181,391Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Redding 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 Redding 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 California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in California, with the Redding metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuba City, CA8146474.9$520K+3.3%#11 of 387
2Stockton-Lodi, CA692,489101.5$423K+5.5%#65 of 387
3Merced, CA6872984.7$418K+5.1%#73 of 387
4Vallejo, CA671,54498.0$460K+0.6%#77 of 387
5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA568,773129.0$446K−0.6%#146 of 387
6Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA5515,275105.3$400K+3.5%#153 of 387
7Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA559,900112.3$396K+3.2%#154 of 387
8Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA513,192113.9$420K−1.5%#183 of 387
9Hanford-Corcoran, CA4941393.8$390K+1.0%#195 of 387
10Redding, CA4569397.3$389K−0.3%#218 of 387

Other business types in the Redding 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 Redding, CA metro area?

There are 693 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Redding metro area as of September 2026. 268 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 319 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 57 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Redding, CA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $269.5M a year, or $3,784 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 693 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $389K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,232 households in the Redding metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Redding, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Redding metro area has 97.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $389K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Redding metro area would have about 727, against 693 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 223 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Redding, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Redding metro area at 181,648 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 71,232 households. The median household income in the Redding metro area is $72,636 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.9% 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. The Redding metro area scores 45 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #218 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 Redding 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 Redding metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Redding 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 Redding 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.