Food and drink · County · Colorado
Restaurants and cafes in Douglas County, CO
The restaurants and cafes in Douglas County, CO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 83 out of 100: High
Ranked #82 of 2,405 scored counties
#4 of 37 scored counties in Colorado
- Listings
- 1,125
- 569 chain locations (51%)
- Official establishments
- 579
- +14.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $785M
- On food away from home · $5,609 a household
- Spending per listing
- $698K
- 88% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 80.4
- 27% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 399,396
- +10.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Douglas 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 Douglas County. 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in Douglas County is 83 (high), #82 of 2,405 scored counties and #4 of 37 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for restaurants and cafes.
Households in Douglas County spend about $785M a year on food away from home, or $5,609 per household, 38% above the U.S. average. That is about $698K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 88% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Douglas County has 1,125 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 51% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 80.4 for every 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 579 businesses with payroll in Douglas County classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 14.9% from 2019. That is one for every 242 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 37 SBA-backed loans worth $30.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Douglas County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Douglas County grew 10.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Douglas County compares
The same measures for Colorado 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 | Douglas County | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 80.4 | 113.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $698K | $391K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 242 | 204 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +14.9% | +5.6% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.9% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $5,609 | $4,421 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $149,594 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 83 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 504 → 579+14.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 13,787
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $376.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 90Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,125569 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2,117The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 37
- Amount
- $30.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Douglas 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 Douglas County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 399,396+10.9% since 2020
- Households
- 139,960
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 840 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 449
- Median household income
- $149,594+24.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $183,544
- Median home value
- $713,600
- Jobs located here
- 144,461
- Daytime population
- 321,562Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Douglas 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 Douglas County. 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 Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Colorado for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Colorado, with Douglas County marked.
Top counties in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Elbert County, CO | 97 | 49 | 49.0 | $1.1M | +16.5% | #2 of 2,405 |
| 2Park County, CO | 89 | 69 | 76.8 | $578K | +5.1% | #33 of 2,405 |
| 3Weld County, CO | 84 | 984 | 79.2 | $546K | +14.2% | #76 of 2,405 |
| 4Douglas County, CO | 83 | 1,125 | 80.4 | $698K | +10.9% | #82 of 2,405 |
| 5Broomfield County, CO | 74 | 270 | 85.0 | $602K | +6.3% | #257 of 2,405 |
| 6Adams County, CO | 74 | 1,691 | 89.6 | $483K | +6.6% | #272 of 2,405 |
| 7Arapahoe County, CO | 62 | 2,493 | 96.9 | $472K | +2.8% | #671 of 2,405 |
| 8Jefferson County, CO | 61 | 2,240 | 92.7 | $516K | −0.5% | #707 of 2,405 |
| 9El Paso County, CO | 61 | 2,957 | 101.9 | $418K | +3.2% | #723 of 2,405 |
| 10Mesa County, CO | 59 | 630 | 95.7 | $391K | +4.4% | #811 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Douglas County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes83
- Sit-down restaurants88
- Fast food and sandwich shops82
- Pizza84
- Coffee shops and cafes73
- Bakeries and dessert shops78
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 Douglas County, CO?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,125 restaurants and cafes in Douglas County. 569 of them (51%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 579 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 14.9% from 2019. Another 90 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Douglas County, CO spend on food away from home?
About $785M a year, or $5,609 per household. That is 38% above the U.S. average (an index of 138, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,125 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $698K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 139,960 households in Douglas County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Douglas County, CO compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Douglas County has 80.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $698K, 88% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Douglas County would have about 2,117, against 1,125 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 242 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Douglas County, CO growing?
Population estimates put Douglas County at 399,396 people in 2025, up 10.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 139,960 households. Median household income in Douglas County is $149,594, 85% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.9%, 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. 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. Douglas County scores 83 for restaurants and cafes (high), #82 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Douglas 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 Douglas County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Douglas 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 Douglas 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.