Food and drink · Metro area · California
Restaurants and cafes in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area
The restaurants and cafes in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #272 of 387 scored metro areas
#16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 24,646
- 5,820 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 11,199
- −1.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $9.3B
- On food away from home · $5,335 a household
- Spending per listing
- $378K
- 2% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 141.3
- 29% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 4,630,041
- −2.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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
At $5,335 per household (31% above the U.S. average), households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area spend about $9.3B a year on food away from home. That works out to $378K per restaurant, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 24,646 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 141.3, 29% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 11,199 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. That is one for every 156 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 1,688 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 431 SBA-backed loans worth $233.7M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.
Population estimates show the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area declined 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is 38 (lower middle), #272 of 387 scored metro areas and #16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 141.3 | 128.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $378K | $355K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 156 | 170 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.9% | +3.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.4% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $5,335 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $136,027 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11,199−1.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 168,998
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.5B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,688Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 24,6465,820 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25,092The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 431
- Amount
- $233.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 4,630,041−2.4% since 2020
- Households
- 1,744,070
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 2,470 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,881
- Median household income
- $136,027+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $194,370
- Median home value
- $1,140,700
- Jobs located here
- 2,497,939
- Daytime population
- 4,885,603Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 |
| 16San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 38 | 24,646 | 141.3 | $378K | −2.4% | #272 of 387 |
Other business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes38
- Sit-down restaurants31
- Fast food and sandwich shops59
- Pizza58
- Coffee shops and cafes28
- Bakeries and dessert shops43
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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 24,646 restaurants and cafes in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. 5,820 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 11,199 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. Official counts list 1,688 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $9.3B a year, or $5,335 per household. That is 31% above the U.S. average (an index of 131, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24,646 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $378K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,744,070 households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 141.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $378K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area would have about 25,092, against 24,646 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 156 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area at 4,630,041 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,744,070 households. Median household income in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is $136,027, 68% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 38 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #272 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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.