Food and drink · County · Indiana
Restaurants and cafes in Starke County, IN
The restaurants and cafes in Starke County, IN, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #832 of 2,405 scored counties
#44 of 86 scored counties in Indiana
- Listings
- 70
- 20 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 22
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $29.9M
- On food away from home · $3,325 a household
- Spending per listing
- $427K
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 77.9
- 29% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 23,425
- +0.1% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Starke 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 Starke County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 70 restaurants and cafes in Starke County. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 77.9, 29% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Starke County comes to about $29.9M a year: $3,325 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That works out to $427K per restaurant, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 22 businesses with payroll in Starke County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 408 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $190K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Starke County.
Population estimates show Starke County grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, Starke County has a Groundwork market score of 58 (upper middle): #832 of 2,405 scored counties and #44 of 86 scored counties in Indiana.
How Starke 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.
| Measure | Starke County | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 77.9 | 92.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $427K | $412K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 408 | 235 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,325 | $3,802 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,960 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 58 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19 → 22
- Employees, 2023
- 351
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7020 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 81The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $190K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Starke 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 Starke County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 23,425+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 8,983
- Median age
- 42.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 83%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 309 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 76
- Median household income
- $63,960+25.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,205
- Median home value
- $157,700
- Jobs located here
- 4,099
- Daytime population
- 17,225Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Starke 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 Starke County. 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 counties in Indiana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Indiana, with Starke County marked.
Top counties in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hancock County, IN | 88 | 229 | 68.4 | $646K | +13.5% | #36 of 2,405 |
| 2Warrick County, IN | 84 | 171 | 68.0 | $634K | +4.4% | #68 of 2,405 |
| 3Morgan County, IN | 83 | 196 | 69.3 | $579K | +4.4% | #92 of 2,405 |
| 4Boone County, IN | 78 | 276 | 96.0 | $515K | +13.5% | #177 of 2,405 |
| 5Harrison County, IN | 77 | 101 | 65.2 | $575K | +1.9% | #194 of 2,405 |
| 6Lawrence County, IN | 75 | 110 | 57.5 | $615K | +1.2% | #231 of 2,405 |
| 7Newton County, IN | 74 | 35 | 61.1 | $573K | +2.9% | #259 of 2,405 |
| 8Hamilton County, IN | 74 | 1,269 | 92.5 | $560K | +10.9% | #261 of 2,405 |
| 9Hendricks County, IN | 74 | 549 | 81.8 | $558K | +10.2% | #262 of 2,405 |
| 10LaGrange County, IN | 74 | 111 | 86.1 | $465K | +1.9% | #277 of 2,405 |
| 44Starke County, IN | 58 | 70 | 77.9 | $427K | +0.1% | #832 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Starke County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes58
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops70
- Pizza46
- Coffee shops and cafes27
- Bakeries and dessert shops38
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 Starke County, IN?
Starke County has 70 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 20 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Starke County, IN spend on food away from home?
About $29.9M a year, or $3,325 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 70 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $427K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,983 households in Starke County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Starke County, IN compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Starke County has 77.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $427K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Starke County would have about 81, against 70 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 408 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Starke County, IN growing?
Population estimates put Starke County at 23,425 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,983 households. The median household income in Starke County is $63,960 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Starke County scores 58 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #832 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Starke 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 Starke County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Starke 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 Starke 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.