Food and drink · Small-town market · Indiana
Restaurants and cafes in the Madison, IN area
How the Madison, IN 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #278 of 538 scored small-town markets
#22 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Indiana
- Listings
- 126
- 40 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- 57
- +7.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $45M
- On food away from home · $3,516 a household
- Spending per listing
- $357K
- 4% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 98.5
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 33,279
- +0.6% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Madison 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 Madison 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
Households in the Madison area spend about $45M a year on food away from home, or $3,516 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $357K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 4% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Madison area has 126 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 32% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 98.5 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Madison area was 57 in 2023, up 7.6% from 2019. That is one for every 224 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $908K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Madison area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Madison area grew 0.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Madison area scores 48 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #278 of 538 scored small-town markets and #22 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Indiana.
How the Madison area 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.
| Measure | Madison area | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 98.5 | 92.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $357K | $412K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 224 | 235 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.6% | +7.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.6% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,516 | $3,802 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $64,577 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 57+7.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,004
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $19.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 12640 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 121The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $908K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Madison 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 Madison area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 33,279+0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 12,790
- Median age
- 41.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 361 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 91
- Median household income
- $64,577+22.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $82,160
- Median home value
- $194,600
- Jobs located here
- 12,163
- Daytime population
- 31,641Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Madison 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 Madison 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 Indiana
Every Indiana market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Indiana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Indiana, with the Madison area marked.
Top small-town markets in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greencastle, IN | 85 | 113 | 79.9 | $472K | +3.2% | #13 of 538 |
| 2Bedford, IN | 84 | 110 | 57.5 | $615K | +1.2% | #16 of 538 |
| 3Decatur, IN | 81 | 82 | 66.1 | $537K | +2.2% | #24 of 538 |
| 4Kendallville, IN | 79 | 140 | 77.0 | $475K | +1.0% | #31 of 538 |
| 5Washington, IN | 79 | 95 | 80.4 | $452K | +2.5% | #34 of 538 |
| 6Huntington, IN | 76 | 117 | 76.0 | $467K | +1.6% | #45 of 538 |
| 7New Castle, IN | 72 | 144 | 77.2 | $443K | +0.5% | #66 of 538 |
| 8Crawfordsville, IN | 72 | 131 | 84.0 | $439K | +2.7% | #68 of 538 |
| 9Greensburg, IN | 68 | 89 | 83.1 | $453K | +0.4% | #89 of 538 |
| 10Auburn, IN | 68 | 153 | 89.5 | $414K | +2.9% | #92 of 538 |
| 22Madison, IN | 48 | 126 | 98.5 | $357K | +0.6% | #278 of 538 |
Other business types in the Madison area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes48
- Sit-down restaurants53
- Fast food and sandwich shops47
- Pizza40
- Coffee shops and cafes48
- Bakeries and dessert shops41
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 Madison, IN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 126 restaurants and cafes in the Madison area. 40 of them (32%) 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, up 7.6% from 2019. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Madison, IN area spend on food away from home?
About $45M a year, or $3,516 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 126 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $357K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,790 households in the Madison area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Madison, IN area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Madison area has 98.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $357K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Madison area would have about 121, against 126 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 224 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Madison, IN area growing?
Population estimates put the Madison area at 33,279 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,790 households. Median household income in the Madison area is $64,577, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.5%, 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. 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 Madison area scores 48 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #278 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 Madison 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 Madison area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Madison 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 Madison 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.