Food and drink · Small-town market · Idaho
Restaurants and cafes in the Mountain Home, ID area
How the Mountain Home, ID area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #227 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Idaho
- Listings
- 110
- 32 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 46
- +24.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $38.5M
- On food away from home · $3,478 a household
- Spending per listing
- $350K
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 99.4
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,465
- +2.8% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home area. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 110 restaurants and cafes in the Mountain Home area. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 99.4 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in the Mountain Home area spend about $38.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,478 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $350K per restaurant, 6% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Mountain Home area in 2023, up 24.3% from 2019. That is one for every 241 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 18 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Mountain Home area grew 2.8%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Mountain Home area is 54 (upper middle), #227 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Idaho.
How the Mountain Home 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.
| Measure | Mountain Home area | Idaho | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 99.4 | 105.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $350K | $366K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 241 | 214 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +24.3% | +13.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.8% | +9.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,478 | $3,857 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,359 | $77,800 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46+24.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 780
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 18Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11032 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 104The 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 the Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,465+2.8% since 2020
- Households
- 11,067
- Median age
- 35.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,075 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 10
- Median household income
- $65,359+39.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $82,615
- Median home value
- $316,500
- Jobs located here
- 6,488
- Daytime population
- 25,305Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Mountain Home area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Mountain Home area. 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 Idaho
Every Idaho market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets 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 Mountain Home area marked.
Top small-town markets in Idaho
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Blackfoot, ID | 93 | 115 | 71.3 | $530K | +6.4% | #2 of 538 |
| Brigham City, UT-ID | 87 | 161 | 75.0 | $521K | +12.6% | #7 of 538 |
| 2Mountain Home, ID | 54 | 110 | 99.4 | $350K | +2.8% | #227 of 538 |
| 3Burley, ID | 53 | 177 | 106.6 | $332K | +6.2% | #238 of 538 |
| 4Sandpoint, ID | 48 | 237 | 116.8 | $312K | +14.8% | #285 of 538 |
| 5Moscow, ID | 46 | 177 | 108.8 | $321K | +5.6% | #311 of 538 |
| Ontario, OR-ID | 41 | 205 | 102.6 | $326K | +5.0% | #365 of 538 |
| 6Hailey, ID | 40 | 208 | 164.7 | $251K | +6.1% | #381 of 538 |
| Jackson, WY-ID | 39 | 308 | 212.3 | $238K | +4.2% | #388 of 538 |
| 7Rexburg, ID | 35 | 222 | 123.5 | $278K | +4.5% | #418 of 538 |
Other business types in the Mountain Home area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants71
- Fast food and sandwich shops42
- Pizza66
- Coffee shops and cafes40
- Bakeries and dessert shops59
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 the Mountain Home, ID area?
The Mountain Home area has 110 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 32 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 24.3% from 2019. Official counts list 18 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Mountain Home, ID area spend on food away from home?
About $38.5M a year, or $3,478 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 110 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $350K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,067 households in the Mountain Home area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Mountain Home, ID area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Mountain Home area has 99.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $350K, 6% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Mountain Home area would have about 104, against 110 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 241 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Mountain Home, ID area growing?
Population estimates put the Mountain Home area at 29,465 people in 2025, up 2.8% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,067 households. The median household income in the Mountain Home area is $65,359 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 39.5% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Mountain Home area scores 54 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #227 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mountain Home 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 Mountain Home 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.