Groundwork

Market rankings · Florida

Restaurants and cafes in Florida

Markets across Florida ranked by the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings
98,351
33,159 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
39,216
+11.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$33.6B
On food away from home
Listings per 10k households
112.4
2% above the U.S.
Spending per listing
$342K
8% below the U.S.
Rank among states
#31 of 51
Market score 46 · Lower middle

A site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings around any address in Florida by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 98,351 restaurants and cafes in Florida. 33,159 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 112.4, 2% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,841 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Florida spend about $33.6B a year on food away from home. That works out to $342K per restaurant, 8% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 39,216 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Florida in 2023, up 11.6% from 2019. That is one for every 223 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.0% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 1,798 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3B have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Florida.

Among the 50 states and DC, Florida ranks #31 for restaurants and cafes, with a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle). Of the 22 scored metro areas in or partly in Florida, the Wildwood-The Villages metro area scores highest (89). Of the 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in Florida, the Clewiston area scores highest (78).

Every market in Florida for restaurants and cafes

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Florida, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Florida, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wildwood-The Villages, FL8933747.9$782K+21.1%#2 of 387
2Punta Gorda, FL8470377.6$463K+15.5%#9 of 387
3Homosassa Springs, FL7848067.3$486K+11.1%#21 of 387
4Ocala, FL781,22674.4$446K+17.3%#25 of 387
5Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL782,39482.7$423K+19.8%#26 of 387
6Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL7764390.8$422K+7.7%#32 of 387
7Port St. Lucie, FL761,84790.0$422K+16.0%#36 of 387
8North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL743,949101.5$396K+13.2%#40 of 387
9Sebring, FL6935575.7$415K+9.7%#69 of 387
10Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL662,635102.3$383K+9.1%#88 of 387
11Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL662,018100.1$380K+6.5%#89 of 387
12Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL663,350102.2$376K+14.4%#91 of 387
13Naples-Marco Island, FL621,829110.3$393K+10.6%#117 of 387
14Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL6014,369108.0$358K+7.3%#132 of 387
15Jacksonville, FL596,980105.3$377K+10.7%#140 of 387
16Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL572,92699.4$367K+11.2%#145 of 387
17Gainesville, FL451,455102.1$345K+5.4%#225 of 387
18Tallahassee, FL381,668105.6$338K+3.1%#278 of 387
19Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL3813,328130.4$300K+10.3%#281 of 387
20Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL3629,733127.3$309K+4.2%#288 of 387
21Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL351,998166.8$243K+9.4%#300 of 387
22Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL341,194135.6$271K+15.7%#309 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Florida, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Clewiston, FL7813773.5$446K+18.8%#37 of 538
2Palatka, FL7122973.0$414K+5.9%#74 of 538
3Arcadia, FL719372.5$410K+8.8%#75 of 538
4Lake City, FL6523184.2$392K+6.2%#128 of 538
5Okeechobee, FL6014897.9$330K+7.4%#173 of 538
6Key West-Key Largo, FL221,178342.4$125K−2.9%#507 of 538

Counties

Counties in Florida, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sumter County, FL9033747.9$782K+21.1%#22 of 2,405
2Santa Rosa County, FL8655276.0$548K+11.7%#53 of 2,405
3Gilchrist County, FL824360.1$581K+14.5%#106 of 2,405
4Flagler County, FL8239074.2$523K+21.0%#112 of 2,405
5Wakulla County, FL8210078.5$486K+12.3%#113 of 2,405
6Union County, FL802251.0$664K+5.2%#132 of 2,405
7Clay County, FL7967780.9$499K+9.4%#157 of 2,405
8Pasco County, FL781,85078.3$477K+19.1%#184 of 2,405
9Glades County, FL772453.3$572K+9.9%#195 of 2,405
10Charlotte County, FL7770377.6$463K+15.5%#209 of 2,405
11Citrus County, FL7448067.3$486K+11.1%#271 of 2,405
12St. Lucie County, FL741,13382.4$441K+21.4%#280 of 2,405
13Baker County, FL727076.4$505K+5.8%#340 of 2,405
14Lake County, FL721,42386.5$429K+18.1%#352 of 2,405
15Manatee County, FL721,63292.3$429K+16.6%#353 of 2,405
16Polk County, FL722,39482.7$423K+19.8%#354 of 2,405
17Dixie County, FL712946.5$611K+8.0%#361 of 2,405
18Hernando County, FL7164077.6$447K+13.3%#381 of 2,405
19Marion County, FL711,22674.4$446K+17.3%#382 of 2,405
20Jefferson County, FL704781.7$424K+11.1%#414 of 2,405
21Suwannee County, FL6910665.8$485K+10.6%#429 of 2,405
22Indian River County, FL6864390.8$422K+7.7%#460 of 2,405
23Nassau County, FL68399101.5$411K+17.4%#463 of 2,405
24Holmes County, FL644361.3$482K+2.7%#598 of 2,405
25St. Johns County, FL641,323114.3$419K+25.0%#616 of 2,405
Show all 67 counties
Counties in Florida, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score, continued
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
26Highlands County, FL6435575.7$415K+9.7%#619 of 2,405
27DeSoto County, FL639372.5$410K+8.8%#646 of 2,405
28Hendry County, FL6211380.0$419K+21.5%#687 of 2,405
29Lee County, FL623,350102.2$376K+14.4%#696 of 2,405
30Putnam County, FL6122973.0$414K+5.9%#724 of 2,405
31Brevard County, FL612,635102.3$383K+9.1%#734 of 2,405
32Sarasota County, FL612,317109.2$373K+10.0%#736 of 2,405
33Collier County, FL601,829110.3$393K+10.6%#774 of 2,405
34Washington County, FL596671.1$445K+5.4%#797 of 2,405
35Gadsden County, FL5812071.1$421K+2.0%#834 of 2,405
36Seminole County, FL571,939103.6$400K+4.3%#880 of 2,405
37Levy County, FL5715281.9$390K+12.7%#887 of 2,405
38Hillsborough County, FL576,625113.6$352K+7.4%#893 of 2,405
39Madison County, FL564970.2$403K+5.0%#927 of 2,405
40Palm Beach County, FL556,605109.1$381K+5.5%#981 of 2,405
41Columbia County, FL5423184.2$392K+6.2%#1,020 of 2,405
42Martin County, FL52714105.3$391K+4.8%#1,101 of 2,405
43Hardee County, FL527490.0$367K+2.4%#1,109 of 2,405
44Okeechobee County, FL5114897.9$330K+7.4%#1,166 of 2,405
45Jackson County, FL5013578.1$377K+5.4%#1,185 of 2,405
46Hamilton County, FL493581.8$345K+3.3%#1,248 of 2,405
47Volusia County, FL492,536104.8$343K+9.1%#1,249 of 2,405
48Duval County, FL474,511108.7$341K+6.5%#1,327 of 2,405
49Bradford County, FL468086.2$383K+0.3%#1,353 of 2,405
50Calhoun County, FL453575.5$399K−3.0%#1,385 of 2,405
51Alachua County, FL431,260107.9$331K+3.7%#1,507 of 2,405
52Escambia County, FL431,466113.6$316K+3.5%#1,511 of 2,405
53Broward County, FL429,170121.6$323K+3.6%#1,549 of 2,405
54Osceola County, FL391,916134.2$270K+23.2%#1,676 of 2,405
55Bay County, FL391,128143.2$261K+17.2%#1,678 of 2,405
56Orange County, FL388,050152.5$261K+6.7%#1,722 of 2,405
57Walton County, FL38681198.2$207K+22.9%#1,723 of 2,405
58Okaloosa County, FL361,317154.2$262K+4.6%#1,803 of 2,405
59Leon County, FL341,401114.3$317K+1.7%#1,879 of 2,405
60Miami-Dade County, FL3413,958143.1$266K+4.0%#1,890 of 2,405
61Pinellas County, FL315,254122.6$311K−1.2%#1,983 of 2,405
62Gulf County, FL30106178.3$197K+11.7%#2,051 of 2,405
63Franklin County, FL25113228.3$153K+4.5%#2,203 of 2,405
64Taylor County, FL217492.8$321K−2.5%#2,265 of 2,405
65Monroe County, FL201,178342.4$125K−2.9%#2,295 of 2,405
Lafayette County, FLNot scored1141.8$742K+6.8%
Liberty County, FLNot scored623.4$1.4M+2.8%

Markets with fewer than 5 restaurants and cafes on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Florida?

There are 98,351 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Florida as of September 2026. 33,159 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 39,216 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 11.6% from 2019. Official counts list 18,011 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Florida spend on food away from home?

About $33.6B a year, or $3,841 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 98,351 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $342K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,752,810 households in Florida and national spending patterns by income.

How does Florida compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Florida has 112.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $342K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Florida would have about 90,676, against 98,351 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 223 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

Which market in Florida has the highest market score for restaurants and cafes?

Among 22 scored metro areas in or partly in Florida, the Wildwood-The Villages metro area scores highest, at 89 (high). Among 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in Florida, the Clewiston area scores highest, at 78 (high). Among 65 scored counties in Florida, Sumter County scores highest, at 90 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Florida scores 46 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #31 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Florida. 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.

Restaurants and cafes in other states

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Top markets for restaurants and cafes across the U.S. · All business types in Florida

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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.