Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Restaurants and cafes in Putnam County, IL

The restaurants and cafes in Putnam County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
19
1 chain location (5%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$9.5M
On food away from home · $3,853 a household
Spending per listing
$500K
35% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
77.1
30% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,619
−0.1% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Putnam 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County. One of them (5%) is a chain location, against 34% across the U.S. That is 77.1 per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,853 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in Putnam County spend about $9.5M a year on food away from home. That is about $500K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Putnam County in 2023. That is one for every 308 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Putnam County declined 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasurePutnam CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households77.1112.0109.8
Spending per listing$500K$376K$371K
Households per official establishment308216209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.1%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,853$4,215$4,070
Median household income$75,590$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored46

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9 → 8
Employees, 2023
22
Annual payroll, 2023
$373K
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
191 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
26The 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,619−0.1% since 2020
Households
2,465
Median age
45.2
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
160 sq. mi.
People per square mile
35
Median household income
$75,590
Average household income
$92,619
Median home value
$172,700
Jobs located here
1,965
Daytime population
4,899Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Putnam 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 Putnam 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 Putnam 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
Putnam County, ILNot scored1977.1$500K−0.1%

Other business types in Putnam 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 Putnam County, IL?

There are 19 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Putnam County as of September 2026. One of them (5%) is a chain location. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $9.5M a year, or $3,853 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $500K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,465 households in Putnam County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Putnam County has 77.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $500K, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Putnam County would have about 26, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 308 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Putnam County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Putnam County at 5,619 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,465 households. The median household income in Putnam County is $75,590 a year, 6% 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Putnam 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 Putnam 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.