Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois
Restaurants and cafes in the Ottawa, IL area
How the Ottawa, 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #417 of 538 scored small-town markets
#18 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 800
- 227 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 279
- +3.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $232.2M
- On food away from home · $3,753 a household
- Spending per listing
- $290K
- 22% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 129.3
- 18% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 145,902
- −1.6% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa area has a Groundwork market score of 35 (lower middle): #417 of 538 scored small-town markets and #18 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Ottawa area spend about $232.2M a year on food away from home, or $3,753 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That is about $290K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 22% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 800 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Ottawa area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 129.3 for every 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 279 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ottawa area in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 222 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ottawa area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ottawa area declined 1.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Ottawa 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 | Ottawa area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 129.3 | 112.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $290K | $376K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 222 | 216 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.7% | +3.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,753 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,230 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 279+3.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,743
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $68.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 63Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 800227 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 626The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $1.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 145,902−1.6% since 2020
- Households
- 61,866
- Median age
- 43.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 2,164 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 68
- Median household income
- $72,230+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,689
- Median home value
- $156,400
- Jobs located here
- 52,301
- Daytime population
- 131,372Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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 |
| 18Ottawa, IL | 35 | 800 | 129.3 | $290K | −1.6% | #417 of 538 |
Other business types in the Ottawa area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants32
- Fast food and sandwich shops58
- Pizza40
- Coffee shops and cafes57
- 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 Ottawa, IL area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 800 restaurants and cafes in the Ottawa area. 227 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 279 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. Official counts list 63 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ottawa, IL area spend on food away from home?
About $232.2M a year, or $3,753 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 800 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $290K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 61,866 households in the Ottawa area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ottawa, IL area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Ottawa area has 129.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $290K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Ottawa area would have about 626, against 800 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 222 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ottawa, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Ottawa area at 145,902 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 61,866 households. Median household income in the Ottawa area is $72,230, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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 Ottawa area scores 35 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #417 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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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.