Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kansas

Restaurants and cafes in Harper County, KS

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Harper County, KS, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
23
9 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$7.1M
On food away from home · $3,202 a household
Spending per listing
$307K
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
104.3
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,370
−1.8% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Harper 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 Harper 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

Households in Harper County spend about $7.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,202 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That is about $307K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 17% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Harper County has 23 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 104.3, 5% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in Harper County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 170 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $722K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Harper County.

Population estimates show Harper County declined 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Harper 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 Harper County, KS compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureHarper CountyKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households104.398.4109.8
Spending per listing$307K$397K$371K
Households per official establishment170229209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.6%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.8%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,202$3,910$4,070
Median household income$53,488$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored58

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9 → 13
Employees, 2023
121
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
5Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
239 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$722K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
5,370−1.8% since 2020
Households
2,206
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
801 sq. mi.
People per square mile
7
Median household income
$53,488
Average household income
$70,967
Median home value
$83,800
Jobs located here
2,393
Daytime population
5,211Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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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 Harper 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
Harper County, KSNot scored23104.3$307K−1.8%

Other business types in Harper 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 Harper County, KS?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 restaurants and cafes in Harper County. 9 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $7.1M a year, or $3,202 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $307K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,206 households in Harper County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Harper County has 104.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $307K, 17% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Harper County would have about 19, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 170 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Harper County, KS growing?

Population estimates put Harper County at 5,370 people in 2025, down 1.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,206 households. Median household income in Harper County is $53,488, 34% 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 Harper 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 Harper County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Harper 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 Harper 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.