Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois
Restaurants and cafes in the Carbondale, IL area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Carbondale, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 18 out of 100: Low
Ranked #524 of 538 scored small-town markets
#20 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 281
- 97 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 111
- +8.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $73M
- On food away from home · $3,181 a household
- Spending per listing
- $260K
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 122.4
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 52,501
- −1.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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
For restaurants and cafes, the Carbondale area has a Groundwork market score of 18 (low): #524 of 538 scored small-town markets and #20 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on food away from home in the Carbondale area comes to about $73M a year: $3,181 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $260K per restaurant, 30% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Carbondale area has 281 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 97 of them (35%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 122.4, 11% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Carbondale area was 111 in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. That is one for every 207 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $3.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Carbondale area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Carbondale area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Carbondale area 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.
| Measure | Carbondale area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 122.4 | 112.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $260K | $376K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 207 | 216 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.8% | +3.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,181 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $48,763 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 18 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 111+8.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,116
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $39.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 18Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 28197 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 197The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $3.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 52,501−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 22,955
- Median age
- 37.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 50%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 584 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 91
- Median household income
- $48,763
- Average household income
- $70,409
- Median home value
- $137,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,658
- Daytime population
- 57,693Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Carbondale area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rochelle, IL | 69 | 213 | 102.3 | $386K | −0.7% | #87 of 538 |
| 2Freeport, IL | 62 | 167 | 86.3 | $403K | −3.0% | #151 of 538 |
| 3Marion-Herrin, IL | 55 | 283 | 97.6 | $371K | +0.2% | #214 of 538 |
| 4Pontiac, IL | 53 | 157 | 107.4 | $354K | −2.1% | #235 of 538 |
| 5Danville, IL | 52 | 265 | 88.1 | $380K | −3.7% | #240 of 538 |
| 6Quincy, IL-MO | 52 | 304 | 97.7 | $363K | −2.0% | #246 of 538 |
| 7Taylorville, IL | 51 | 135 | 99.4 | $351K | −1.5% | #255 of 538 |
| 8Lincoln, IL | 49 | 112 | 99.4 | $364K | −2.5% | #267 of 538 |
| 9Jacksonville, IL | 47 | 155 | 102.5 | $350K | −3.1% | #292 of 538 |
| 10Sterling, IL | 47 | 244 | 105.5 | $339K | −2.6% | #296 of 538 |
| 20Carbondale, IL | 18 | 281 | 122.4 | $260K | −1.5% | #524 of 538 |
Other business types in the Carbondale area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes18
- Sit-down restaurants22
- Fast food and sandwich shops25
- Pizza21
- Coffee shops and cafes22
- Bakeries and dessert shops31
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 Carbondale, IL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 281 restaurants and cafes in the Carbondale area. 97 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 111 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. Another 18 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Carbondale, IL area spend on food away from home?
About $73M a year, or $3,181 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 281 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $260K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,955 households in the Carbondale area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Carbondale, IL area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Carbondale area has 122.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $260K, 30% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Carbondale area would have about 197, against 281 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 207 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Carbondale, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Carbondale area at 52,501 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,955 households. Median household income in the Carbondale area is $48,763, 40% below 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. 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 Carbondale area scores 18 for restaurants and cafes (low), #524 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 Carbondale 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 Carbondale area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carbondale 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 Carbondale 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.