Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas
Restaurants and cafes in the Hays, KS area
How the Hays, KS 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 28 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #474 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas
- Listings
- 154
- 69 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 73
- +9.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $43M
- On food away from home · $3,507 a household
- Spending per listing
- $279K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 125.7
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,075
- +0.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Hays 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 Hays 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
For restaurants and cafes, the Hays area has a Groundwork market score of 28 (lower middle): #474 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 154 restaurants and cafes in the Hays area. Of those, 69 are chain locations, or 45%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 125.7, 14% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Hays area comes to about $43M a year: $3,507 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $279K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 25% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 73 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hays area in 2023, up 9.0% from 2019. That is one for every 168 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $3.5M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hays area. Population estimates show the Hays area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Hays area 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.
| Measure | Hays area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 125.7 | 98.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $279K | $397K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 168 | 229 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.0% | +6.6% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,507 | $3,910 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,084 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 28 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 73+9.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,337
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $25.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15469 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 116The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $3.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hays 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 Hays area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,075+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 12,251
- Median age
- 36.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 900 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 32
- Median household income
- $63,084+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,365
- Median home value
- $216,300
- Jobs located here
- 15,340
- Daytime population
- 30,752Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hays 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 Hays 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 Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Hays area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ottawa, KS | 69 | 93 | 89.3 | $416K | +1.1% | #85 of 538 |
| 2McPherson, KS | 65 | 112 | 92.1 | $415K | −0.4% | #125 of 538 |
| 3Arkansas City-Winfield, KS | 62 | 110 | 82.2 | $410K | −0.4% | #150 of 538 |
| 4Atchison, KS | 47 | 57 | 99.4 | $343K | −0.9% | #295 of 538 |
| 5Hutchinson, KS | 46 | 227 | 88.7 | $380K | −0.6% | #304 of 538 |
| 6Salina, KS | 44 | 245 | 98.3 | $362K | −1.4% | #332 of 538 |
| 7Great Bend, KS | 34 | 109 | 105.0 | $319K | −2.5% | #428 of 538 |
| 8Pittsburg, KS | 34 | 162 | 102.3 | $312K | +0.1% | #429 of 538 |
| 9Garden City, KS | 31 | 167 | 126.2 | $302K | −2.1% | #453 of 538 |
| 10Hays, KS | 28 | 154 | 125.7 | $279K | +0.4% | #474 of 538 |
Other business types in the Hays area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes28
- Sit-down restaurants26
- Fast food and sandwich shops31
- Pizza24
- Coffee shops and cafes53
- 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 Hays, KS area?
There are 154 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Hays area as of September 2026. 69 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 73 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 9.0% from 2019. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Hays, KS area spend on food away from home?
About $43M a year, or $3,507 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 154 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $279K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,251 households in the Hays area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hays, KS area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Hays area has 125.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $279K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Hays area would have about 116, against 154 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 168 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Hays, KS area growing?
Population estimates put the Hays area at 29,075 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,251 households. The median household income in the Hays area is $63,084 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.3% 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. 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 Hays area scores 28 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #474 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 Hays 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 Hays area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hays 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 Hays 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.