Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois
Restaurants and cafes in the Freeport, IL area
How the Freeport, IL 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 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #151 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 167
- 41 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 57
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $67.4M
- On food away from home · $3,481 a household
- Spending per listing
- $403K
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 86.3
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 43,220
- −3.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Freeport 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 Freeport 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 167 restaurants and cafes in the Freeport area. Chain locations make up 25% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 86.3, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in the Freeport area spend about $67.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,481 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 167 restaurants and cafes, that is $403K per restaurant, 9% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Freeport area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 340 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in the Freeport area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For restaurants and cafes, the Freeport area has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #151 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.
How the Freeport 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 | Freeport area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 86.3 | 112.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $403K | $376K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 340 | 216 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +3.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.0% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,481 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $64,043 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 570.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 917
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16741 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 182The 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 Freeport 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 Freeport area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 43,220−3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 19,358
- Median age
- 45.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 564 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 78
- Median household income
- $64,043+31.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,920
- Median home value
- $134,900
- Jobs located here
- 17,326
- Daytime population
- 40,359Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Freeport 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 Freeport 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 Freeport 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 |
Other business types in the Freeport area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes62
- Sit-down restaurants56
- Fast food and sandwich shops54
- Pizza58
- Coffee shops and cafes62
- Bakeries and dessert shops43
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 Freeport, IL area?
The Freeport area has 167 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 41 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 15 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Freeport, IL area spend on food away from home?
About $67.4M a year, or $3,481 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 167 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $403K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,358 households in the Freeport area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Freeport, IL area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Freeport area has 86.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $403K, 9% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Freeport area would have about 182, against 167 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 340 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Freeport, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Freeport area at 43,220 people in 2025, down 3.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,358 households. The median household income in the Freeport area is $64,043 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.2% 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 Freeport area scores 62 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #151 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 Freeport 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 Freeport area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Freeport 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 Freeport 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.