Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Restaurants and cafes in the Galesburg, IL area

The restaurants and cafes in the Galesburg, IL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #405 of 538 scored small-town markets
#17 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
199
74 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments
86
−12.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$68.9M
On food away from home · $3,287 a household
Spending per listing
$346K
7% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
94.9
14% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
47,767
−4.1% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Galesburg 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 Galesburg area. 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

For restaurants and cafes, the Galesburg area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #405 of 538 scored small-town markets and #17 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 Galesburg area comes to about $68.9M a year: $3,287 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That works out to $346K per restaurant, 7% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 199 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Galesburg area as of September 2026. 74 of them (37%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 94.9, 14% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 86 businesses with payroll in the Galesburg area classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 12.2% from 2019. That is one for every 244 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.6M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Galesburg area. Population estimates put the population change in the Galesburg area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Galesburg 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Galesburg, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureGalesburg areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households94.9112.0109.8
Spending per listing$346K$376K$371K
Households per official establishment244216209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−12.2%+3.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.1%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,287$4,215$4,070
Median household income$57,030$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3646

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
86−12.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,296
Annual payroll, 2023
$25.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
11Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
19974 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
186The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Galesburg 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 Galesburg area

Population, 2025 estimate
47,767−4.1% since 2020
Households
20,972
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
716 sq. mi.
People per square mile
68
Median household income
$57,030+29.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,560
Median home value
$111,900
Jobs located here
15,910
Daytime population
44,318Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Galesburg 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.

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Restaurants 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 Galesburg area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rochelle, IL69213102.3$386K−0.7%#87 of 538
2Freeport, IL6216786.3$403K−3.0%#151 of 538
3Marion-Herrin, IL5528397.6$371K+0.2%#214 of 538
4Pontiac, IL53157107.4$354K−2.1%#235 of 538
5Danville, IL5226588.1$380K−3.7%#240 of 538
6Quincy, IL-MO5230497.7$363K−2.0%#246 of 538
7Taylorville, IL5113599.4$351K−1.5%#255 of 538
8Lincoln, IL4911299.4$364K−2.5%#267 of 538
9Jacksonville, IL47155102.5$350K−3.1%#292 of 538
10Sterling, IL47244105.5$339K−2.6%#296 of 538
17Galesburg, IL3619994.9$346K−4.1%#405 of 538

Other business types in the Galesburg area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Galesburg, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 199 restaurants and cafes in the Galesburg area. 74 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 86 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 12.2% from 2019. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Galesburg, IL area spend on food away from home?

About $68.9M a year, or $3,287 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 199 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $346K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 20,972 households in the Galesburg area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Galesburg, IL area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Galesburg area has 94.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $346K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Galesburg area would have about 186, against 199 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 244 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Galesburg, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Galesburg area at 47,767 people in 2025, down 4.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 20,972 households. Median household income in the Galesburg area is $57,030, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.2%, 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 Galesburg area scores 36 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #405 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 Galesburg 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 Galesburg area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Galesburg area?

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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.