Food and drink · Metro area · Illinois
Restaurants and cafes in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area
The restaurants and cafes in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #303 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 1,035
- 392 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 478
- +3.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $365.4M
- On food away from home · $3,720 a household
- Spending per listing
- $353K
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 105.4
- 4% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 239,979
- +1.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Champaign-Urbana metro area is 34 (lower middle), #303 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,035 restaurants and cafes in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 105.4 per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Champaign-Urbana metro area comes to about $365.4M a year: $3,720 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 1,035 restaurants and cafes, that is $353K per restaurant, 5% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 478 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Champaign-Urbana metro area in 2023, up 3.2% from 2019. That is one for every 205 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $6.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Champaign-Urbana metro area grew 1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Champaign-Urbana metro 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 | Champaign-Urbana metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 105.4 | 112.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $353K | $376K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 205 | 216 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.2% | +3.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,720 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,528 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 478+3.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 8,285
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $179.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 77Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,035392 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 986The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 16
- Amount
- $6.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 239,979+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 98,224
- Median age
- 36.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 1,921 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 124
- Median household income
- $65,528
- Average household income
- $92,216
- Median home value
- $201,700
- Jobs located here
- 101,931
- Daytime population
- 245,150Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro 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 metro areas in Illinois for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Champaign-Urbana metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bloomington, IL | 66 | 674 | 96.0 | $423K | +0.1% | #87 of 387 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 64 | 11,274 | 97.2 | $423K | −0.2% | #103 of 387 |
| 2Peoria, IL | 55 | 1,519 | 98.7 | $390K | −1.3% | #155 of 387 |
| 3Rockford, IL | 52 | 1,260 | 93.0 | $397K | −0.3% | #178 of 387 |
| 4Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 47 | 42,241 | 115.9 | $381K | 0.0% | #210 of 387 |
| 5Kankakee, IL | 45 | 412 | 100.5 | $382K | −1.7% | #219 of 387 |
| 6Decatur, IL | 43 | 416 | 95.7 | $369K | −4.3% | #239 of 387 |
| 7Springfield, IL | 38 | 973 | 108.1 | $364K | −1.2% | #273 of 387 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 35 | 1,753 | 108.4 | $353K | −0.9% | #293 of 387 |
| 8Champaign-Urbana, IL | 34 | 1,035 | 105.4 | $353K | +1.5% | #303 of 387 |
Other business types in the Champaign-Urbana metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes34
- Sit-down restaurants31
- Fast food and sandwich shops36
- Pizza29
- Coffee shops and cafes50
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area?
There are 1,035 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Champaign-Urbana metro area as of September 2026. 392 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 478 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.2% from 2019. Official counts list 77 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area spend on food away from home?
About $365.4M a year, or $3,720 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,035 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $353K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 98,224 households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Champaign-Urbana metro area has 105.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $353K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Champaign-Urbana metro area would have about 986, against 1,035 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 205 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Champaign-Urbana metro area at 239,979 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 98,224 households. The median household income in the Champaign-Urbana metro area is $65,528 a year, 19% 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. 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area scores 34 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #303 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 Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Champaign-Urbana 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 Champaign-Urbana 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.