Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Restaurants and cafes in Calhoun County, IL

How Calhoun County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

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

Listings
21
3 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$5.3M
On food away from home · $4,260 a household
Spending per listing
$251K
32% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
169.5
54% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,300
−2.2% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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

Households in Calhoun County spend about $5.3M a year on food away from home, or $4,260 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. That works out to $251K per restaurant, 32% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Calhoun County has 21 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 169.5 for every 10,000 households, 54% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in Calhoun County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 103 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Calhoun County declined 2.2%, 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 Calhoun County compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Calhoun County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCalhoun CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households169.5112.0109.8
Spending per listing$251K$376K$371K
Households per official establishment103216209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.2%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,260$4,215$4,070
Median household income$93,203$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored46

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8 → 12
Employees, 2023
103
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
213 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County

Population, 2025 estimate
4,300−2.2% since 2020
Households
1,239
Median age
47.8
Homes lived in by their owners
89%
Vehicles per household
2.4
Land area
254 sq. mi.
People per square mile
17
Median household income
$93,203
Average household income
$105,834
Median home value
$190,900
Jobs located here
855
Daytime population
2,927Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Calhoun County marked.

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Piatt County, IL775883.8$511K+0.6%#207 of 2,405
2Kendall County, IL7538985.7$563K+9.9%#239 of 2,405
3Boone County, IL7515177.6$538K+0.4%#244 of 2,405
4Woodford County, IL7311477.6$560K−0.8%#298 of 2,405
5Menard County, IL723566.9$584K−3.3%#332 of 2,405
6McHenry County, IL671,08191.9$513K+2.5%#476 of 2,405
7Moultrie County, IL654984.2$442K−0.8%#571 of 2,405
8Will County, IL642,43899.8$481K+2.2%#599 of 2,405
9Cumberland County, IL643276.6$478K−2.1%#601 of 2,405
10Monroe County, IL6213396.0$483K−0.3%#666 of 2,405
Calhoun County, ILNot scored21169.5$251K−2.2%

Other business types in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 restaurants and cafes in Calhoun County. 3 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

How much do households in Calhoun County, IL spend on food away from home?

About $5.3M a year, or $4,260 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $251K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,239 households in Calhoun County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Calhoun County, IL compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Calhoun County has 169.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 54% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $251K, 32% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Calhoun County would have about 14, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 103 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Calhoun County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Calhoun County at 4,300 people in 2025, down 2.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,239 households. Median household income in Calhoun County is $93,203, 15% above 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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.