Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Colorado

Restaurants and cafes in Rio Grande County, CO

The restaurants and cafes in Rio Grande County, CO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 16 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,354 of 2,405 scored counties
#36 of 37 scored counties in Colorado

Listings
69
12 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
26
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$17.7M
On food away from home · $3,451 a household
Spending per listing
$257K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
134.4
22% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
11,087
−3.9% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County. 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

For restaurants and cafes, Rio Grande County has a Groundwork market score of 16 (low): #2,354 of 2,405 scored counties and #36 of 37 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on food away from home in Rio Grande County comes to about $17.7M a year: $3,451 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $257K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 31% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Rio Grande County has 69 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 12 of them (17%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 134.4 per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Rio Grande County was 26 in 2023. That is one for every 197 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $336K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Rio Grande County. Population estimates put the population change in Rio Grande County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County, CO compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureRio Grande CountyColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households134.4113.0109.8
Spending per listing$257K$391K$371K
Households per official establishment197204209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.6%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.9%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,451$4,421$4,070
Median household income$64,411$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market score1664

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18 → 26
Employees, 2023
295
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
13Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6912 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
48The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$336K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County

Population, 2025 estimate
11,087−3.9% since 2020
Households
5,133
Median age
44.8
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
912 sq. mi.
People per square mile
12
Median household income
$64,411+64.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,497
Median home value
$239,500
Jobs located here
3,889
Daytime population
10,204Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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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 Rio Grande 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
36Rio Grande County, CO1669134.4$257K−3.9%#2,354 of 2,405

Other business types in Rio Grande County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Rio Grande County, CO?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 69 restaurants and cafes in Rio Grande County. 12 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts list 13 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $17.7M a year, or $3,451 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 69 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $257K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,133 households in Rio Grande County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Rio Grande County has 134.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $257K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Rio Grande County would have about 48, against 69 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 197 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Rio Grande County, CO growing?

Population estimates put Rio Grande County at 11,087 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,133 households. Median household income in Rio Grande County is $64,411, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 64.6%, 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. Rio Grande County scores 16 for restaurants and cafes (low), #2,354 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rio Grande County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.