Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Indiana

Restaurants and cafes in Fayette County, IN

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #854 of 2,405 scored counties
#45 of 86 scored counties in Indiana

Listings
53
25 chain locations (47%)
Official establishments
40
+5.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$31.4M
On food away from home · $3,335 a household
Spending per listing
$593K
60% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
56.3
49% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
23,533
+0.7% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Fayette 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 Fayette County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on food away from home in Fayette County comes to about $31.4M a year: $3,335 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Spread across 53 restaurants and cafes, that is $593K per restaurant, 60% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Fayette County has 53 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 25 of them (47%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 56.3 for every 10,000 households, 49% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Fayette County in 2023, up 5.3% from 2019. That is one for every 236 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $4.7M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Fayette County.

Population estimates show Fayette County grew 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in Fayette County is 57 (upper middle), #854 of 2,405 scored counties and #45 of 86 scored counties in Indiana.

How Fayette County compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Fayette County, IN compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureFayette CountyIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households56.392.4109.8
Spending per listing$593K$412K$371K
Households per official establishment236235209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.3%+7.3%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.7%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,335$3,802$4,070
Median household income$59,321$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score5762

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
38 → 40+5.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
713
Annual payroll, 2023
$10.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
6Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5325 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
85The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$4.7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Fayette 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 Fayette County

Population, 2025 estimate
23,533+0.7% since 2020
Households
9,422
Median age
43.6
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
215 sq. mi.
People per square mile
109
Median household income
$59,321+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,303
Median home value
$130,700
Jobs located here
5,957
Daytime population
18,647Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Fayette 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 Fayette County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Restaurants and cafes across Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Indiana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Indiana, with Fayette County marked.

Top counties in Indiana

Counties in Indiana ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hancock County, IN8822968.4$646K+13.5%#36 of 2,405
2Warrick County, IN8417168.0$634K+4.4%#68 of 2,405
3Morgan County, IN8319669.3$579K+4.4%#92 of 2,405
4Boone County, IN7827696.0$515K+13.5%#177 of 2,405
5Harrison County, IN7710165.2$575K+1.9%#194 of 2,405
6Lawrence County, IN7511057.5$615K+1.2%#231 of 2,405
7Newton County, IN743561.1$573K+2.9%#259 of 2,405
8Hamilton County, IN741,26992.5$560K+10.9%#261 of 2,405
9Hendricks County, IN7454981.8$558K+10.2%#262 of 2,405
10LaGrange County, IN7411186.1$465K+1.9%#277 of 2,405
45Fayette County, IN575356.3$593K+0.7%#854 of 2,405

Other business types in Fayette County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Fayette County, IN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 53 restaurants and cafes in Fayette County. 25 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 5.3% from 2019. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Fayette County, IN spend on food away from home?

About $31.4M a year, or $3,335 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $593K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,422 households in Fayette County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Fayette County, IN compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Fayette County has 56.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 49% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $593K, 60% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Fayette County would have about 85, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 236 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Fayette County, IN growing?

Population estimates put Fayette County at 23,533 people in 2025, up 0.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 9,422 households. Median household income in Fayette County is $59,321, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.5%, 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. 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. Fayette County scores 57 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #854 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Fayette 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 Fayette County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Fayette 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 Fayette 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.