Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Indiana

Restaurants and cafes in Wabash County, IN

How Wabash County, IN compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,569 of 2,405 scored counties
#73 of 86 scored counties in Indiana

Listings
121
46 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
53
+15.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$45.2M
On food away from home · $3,565 a household
Spending per listing
$373K
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
95.5
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,713
−0.7% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Wabash 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 Wabash 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 121 restaurants and cafes in Wabash County. 46 of them (38%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 95.5 for every 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Wabash County comes to about $45.2M a year: $3,565 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That is about $373K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 53 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Wabash County in 2023, up 15.2% from 2019. That is one for every 239 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $135K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Wabash County.

Population estimates put the population change in Wabash County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in Wabash County is 41 (lower middle), #1,569 of 2,405 scored counties and #73 of 86 scored counties in Indiana.

How Wabash 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 Wabash County, IN compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureWabash CountyIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households95.592.4109.8
Spending per listing$373K$412K$371K
Households per official establishment239235209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.2%+7.3%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.7%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,565$3,802$4,070
Median household income$66,806$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score4162

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
46 → 53+15.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
751
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
12Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12146 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
122The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$135K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
30,713−0.7% since 2020
Households
12,674
Median age
44.0
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
413 sq. mi.
People per square mile
75
Median household income
$66,806+23.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,614
Median home value
$157,200
Jobs located here
11,902
Daytime population
29,095Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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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 Wabash 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
73Wabash County, IN4112195.5$373K−0.7%#1,569 of 2,405

Other business types in Wabash County

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

Questions

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

There are 121 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Wabash County as of September 2026. 46 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 53 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 15.2% from 2019. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $45.2M a year, or $3,565 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 121 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $373K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,674 households in Wabash County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Wabash County has 95.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $373K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Wabash County would have about 122, against 121 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 239 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Wabash County, IN growing?

Population estimates put Wabash County at 30,713 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,674 households. The median household income in Wabash County is $66,806 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.1% 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. Wabash County scores 41 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #1,569 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Wabash 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 Wabash 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.