Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Colorado

Restaurants and cafes in Lincoln County, CO

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Lincoln County, CO, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
24
11 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$6.6M
On food away from home · $3,349 a household
Spending per listing
$275K
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
121.8
11% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,645
−0.4% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on food away from home in Lincoln County comes to about $6.6M a year: $3,349 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Spread across 24 restaurants and cafes, that is $275K per restaurant, 26% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 24 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Lincoln County as of September 2026. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 46%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 121.8 for every 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lincoln County was 9 in 2023. That is one for every 219 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Lincoln County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Lincoln 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Lincoln County, CO compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureLincoln CountyColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households121.8113.0109.8
Spending per listing$275K$391K$371K
Households per official establishment219204209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.6%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,349$4,421$4,070
Median household income$62,861$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored64

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11 → 9
Employees, 2023
174
Annual payroll, 2023
$4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2411 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
18The 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,645−0.4% since 2020
Households
1,971
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
2,578 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2
Median household income
$62,861
Average household income
$76,917
Median home value
$246,500
Jobs located here
2,000
Daytime population
5,237Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Restaurants 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 Lincoln County marked.

Top counties in Colorado

Counties in Colorado ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Elbert County, CO974949.0$1.1M+16.5%#2 of 2,405
2Park County, CO896976.8$578K+5.1%#33 of 2,405
3Weld County, CO8498479.2$546K+14.2%#76 of 2,405
4Douglas County, CO831,12580.4$698K+10.9%#82 of 2,405
5Broomfield County, CO7427085.0$602K+6.3%#257 of 2,405
6Adams County, CO741,69189.6$483K+6.6%#272 of 2,405
7Arapahoe County, CO622,49396.9$472K+2.8%#671 of 2,405
8Jefferson County, CO612,24092.7$516K−0.5%#707 of 2,405
9El Paso County, CO612,957101.9$418K+3.2%#723 of 2,405
10Mesa County, CO5963095.7$391K+4.4%#811 of 2,405
Lincoln County, CONot scored24121.8$275K−0.4%

Other business types in Lincoln County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Lincoln County, CO?

As of September 2026, map listings count 24 restaurants and cafes in Lincoln County. 11 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

How much do households in Lincoln County, CO spend on food away from home?

About $6.6M a year, or $3,349 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $275K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,971 households in Lincoln County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lincoln County, CO compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Lincoln County has 121.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $275K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Lincoln County would have about 18, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 219 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Lincoln County, CO growing?

Population estimates put Lincoln County at 5,645 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,971 households. Median household income in Lincoln County is $62,861, 22% below 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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.