Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Idaho

Restaurants and cafes in the Idaho Falls, ID metro area

The restaurants and cafes in the Idaho Falls, ID metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #137 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Idaho

Listings
554
237 chain locations (43%)
Official establishments
262
+18.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$216.1M
On food away from home · $3,896 a household
Spending per listing
$390K
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
99.9
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
173,851
+9.8% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Idaho Falls metro area

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 the Idaho Falls metro area. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 554 restaurants and cafes in the Idaho Falls metro area. Chain locations make up 43% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 99.9 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in the Idaho Falls metro area spend about $216.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,896 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $390K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 262 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Idaho Falls metro area in 2023, up 18.6% from 2019. That is one for every 212 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 36 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 14 SBA-backed loans worth $4.3M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Idaho Falls metro area.

Population estimates show the Idaho Falls metro area grew 9.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Idaho Falls metro area scores 59 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #137 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Idaho.

How the Idaho Falls metro area compares

The same measures for Idaho 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 Idaho Falls, ID metro area compared with Idaho and the U.S.
MeasureIdaho Falls metro areaIdahoU.S.
Listings per 10k households99.9105.4109.8
Spending per listing$390K$366K$371K
Households per official establishment212214209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+18.6%+13.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.8%+9.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,896$3,857$4,070
Median household income$80,291$77,800$80,734
Groundwork market score5953

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
262+18.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,696
Annual payroll, 2023
$108.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
36Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
554237 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
583The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
14
Amount
$4.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Idaho Falls metro area, 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 the Idaho Falls metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
173,851+9.8% since 2020
Households
55,456
Median age
34.2
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
5,196 sq. mi.
People per square mile
32
Median household income
$80,291+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,557
Median home value
$372,100
Jobs located here
80,023
Daytime population
171,300Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Idaho Falls metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 the Idaho Falls metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across Idaho

Every Idaho market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Idaho for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Idaho (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Idaho Falls metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Idaho

Metro areas in Idaho ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Logan, UT-ID8438377.6$507K+8.8%#7 of 387
1Boise City, ID732,99898.6$416K+12.2%#47 of 387
2Lewiston, ID-WA6323186.3$427K+1.5%#104 of 387
3Idaho Falls, ID5955499.9$390K+9.8%#137 of 387
4Coeur d’Alene, ID43829116.5$336K+11.0%#243 of 387
5Pocatello, ID42342101.8$347K+4.9%#246 of 387
6Twin Falls, ID35467108.5$331K+8.1%#298 of 387

Other business types in the Idaho Falls metro area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Idaho Falls, ID metro area?

There are 554 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Idaho Falls metro area as of September 2026. 237 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 262 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 18.6% from 2019. Another 36 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Idaho Falls, ID metro area spend on food away from home?

About $216.1M a year, or $3,896 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 554 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $390K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 55,456 households in the Idaho Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Idaho Falls, ID metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Idaho Falls metro area has 99.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $390K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Idaho Falls metro area would have about 583, against 554 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 212 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 18.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Idaho Falls, ID metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Idaho Falls metro area at 173,851 people in 2025, up 9.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 55,456 households. The median household income in the Idaho Falls metro area is $80,291 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. The Idaho Falls metro area scores 59 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #137 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Idaho Falls metro area. 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 the Idaho Falls metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Idaho Falls metro area?

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 the Idaho Falls metro area. 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.