Food and drink · County · Colorado
Restaurants and cafes in Lake County, CO
How Lake County, CO compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 50
- 5 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12.9M
- On food away from home · $4,268 a household
- Spending per listing
- $258K
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 165.6
- 51% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 7,552
- +1.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Lake 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 Lake 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 50 restaurants and cafes in Lake County. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 10%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 165.6 per 10,000 households, 51% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $4,268 per household (5% above the U.S. average), households in Lake County spend about $12.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $258K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 30% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 19 businesses with payroll in Lake County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 159 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Lake County grew 1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Lake 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 | Lake County | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 165.6 | 113.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $258K | $391K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 159 | 204 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.6% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,268 | $4,421 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $96,575 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 13 → 19
- Employees, 2023
- 239
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 505 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 35The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lake 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 Lake County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,552+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 3,020
- Median age
- 37.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 377 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 20
- Median household income
- $96,575
- Average household income
- $114,405
- Median home value
- $466,100
- Jobs located here
- 2,064
- Daytime population
- 4,201Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 |
| Lake County, CO | Not scored | 50 | 165.6 | $258K | +1.9% |
Other business types in Lake County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Lake County, CO?
There are 50 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Lake County as of September 2026. 5 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.
How much do households in Lake County, CO spend on food away from home?
About $12.9M a year, or $4,268 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $258K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,020 households in Lake County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lake County, CO compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Lake County has 165.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 51% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $258K, 30% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Lake County would have about 35, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 159 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Lake County, CO growing?
Population estimates put Lake County at 7,552 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,020 households. The median household income in Lake County is $96,575 a year, 20% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lake 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 Lake County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lake 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 Lake 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.