Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kansas

Restaurants and cafes in Gray County, KS

The restaurants and cafes in Gray County, KS, 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
22
10 chain locations (45%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$8.3M
On food away from home · $3,891 a household
Spending per listing
$378K
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
103.0
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,652
+0.1% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Gray 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 Gray 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 22 restaurants and cafes in Gray County. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 45%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 103.0, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Gray County comes to about $8.3M a year: $3,891 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That works out to $378K per restaurant, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Gray County in 2023. That is one for every 178 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Gray County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Gray County compares

The same measures for Kansas 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 Gray County, KS compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureGray CountyKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households103.098.4109.8
Spending per listing$378K$397K$371K
Households per official establishment178229209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.6%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,891$3,910$4,070
Median household income$79,122$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored58

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11 → 12
Employees, 2023
84
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2210 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The 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 Gray 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 Gray County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,652+0.1% since 2020
Households
2,136
Median age
37.7
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.4
Land area
869 sq. mi.
People per square mile
7
Median household income
$79,122
Average household income
$98,570
Median home value
$206,000
Jobs located here
3,047
Daytime population
6,677Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Gray 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 Gray 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 Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kansas

Counties in Kansas ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Miami County, KS849770.6$597K+5.9%#70 of 2,405
2Leavenworth County, KS8123076.2$557K+3.2%#121 of 2,405
3Jefferson County, KS785574.2$546K−0.2%#174 of 2,405
4Pottawatomie County, KS787377.8$544K+6.9%#175 of 2,405
5Butler County, KS7420078.9$510K+3.1%#268 of 2,405
6Johnson County, KS712,37295.1$514K+4.2%#369 of 2,405
7Jackson County, KS684181.8$461K+1.5%#454 of 2,405
8Dickinson County, KS636783.6$436K+1.4%#640 of 2,405
9Osage County, KS615179.3$460K−0.3%#715 of 2,405
10Franklin County, KS569389.3$416K+1.1%#919 of 2,405
Gray County, KSNot scored22103.0$378K+0.1%

Other business types in Gray 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 Gray County, KS?

Gray County has 22 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

How much do households in Gray County, KS spend on food away from home?

About $8.3M a year, or $3,891 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $378K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,136 households in Gray County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Gray County, KS compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Gray County has 103.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $378K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 178 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Gray County, KS growing?

Population estimates put Gray County at 5,652 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,136 households. The median household income in Gray County is $79,122 a year, 2% 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 Gray 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 Gray County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Gray 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 Gray 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.