Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Restaurants and cafes in Edwards County, IL

How Edwards 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
19
9 chain locations (47%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$8.9M
On food away from home · $3,330 a household
Spending per listing
$467K
26% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
71.3
35% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,898
−5.0% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Edwards 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 Edwards 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 restaurants and cafes in Edwards County. Chain locations make up 47% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 71.3, 35% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,330 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in Edwards County spend about $8.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $467K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 26% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in Edwards County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 444 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Edwards County declined 5.0%, 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 Edwards 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 Edwards County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureEdwards CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households71.3112.0109.8
Spending per listing$467K$376K$371K
Households per official establishment444216209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−5.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,330$4,215$4,070
Median household income$60,519$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored46

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6 → 6
Employees, 2023
29
Annual payroll, 2023
$314K
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
199 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The 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 Edwards 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 Edwards County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,898−5.0% since 2020
Households
2,666
Median age
45.5
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
222 sq. mi.
People per square mile
27
Median household income
$60,519
Average household income
$76,364
Median home value
$100,000
Jobs located here
2,262
Daytime population
5,759Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Edwards 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 Edwards 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 Edwards 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
Edwards County, ILNot scored1971.3$467K−5.0%

Other business types in Edwards 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 Edwards County, IL?

There are 19 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Edwards County as of September 2026. 9 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

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

About $8.9M a year, or $3,330 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $467K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,666 households in Edwards County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Edwards County has 71.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $467K, 26% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Edwards County would have about 24, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 444 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Edwards County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Edwards County at 5,898 people in 2025, down 5.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,666 households. The median household income in Edwards County is $60,519 a year, 25% 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 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 Edwards 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 Edwards County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Edwards 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 Edwards 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.