Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kansas

Restaurants and cafes in Seward County, KS

How Seward County, KS 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 16 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,358 of 2,405 scored counties
#38 of 38 scored counties in Kansas

Listings
104
45 chain locations (43%)
Official establishments
39
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$25.5M
On food away from home · $3,511 a household
Spending per listing
$245K
34% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
143.3
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
21,073
−3.6% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Seward 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 Seward 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

Seward County scores 16 (low) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #2,358 of 2,405 scored counties and #38 of 38 scored counties in Kansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 104 restaurants and cafes in Seward County. Chain locations make up 43% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 143.3, 31% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,511 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in Seward County spend about $25.5M a year on food away from home. That is about $245K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 34% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

In 2023, official counts showed 39 businesses with payroll in Seward County classed as restaurants and other eating places, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 186 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Seward County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Seward 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 Seward County, KS compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureSeward CountyKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households143.398.4109.8
Spending per listing$245K$397K$371K
Households per official establishment186229209
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+6.6%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,511$3,910$4,070
Median household income$63,827$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score1658

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
39 → 390.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
724
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
21Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10445 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
69The 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 Seward 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 Seward County

Population, 2025 estimate
21,073−3.6% since 2020
Households
7,257
Median age
32.8
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
640 sq. mi.
People per square mile
34
Median household income
$63,827+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,284
Median home value
$136,500
Jobs located here
10,899
Daytime population
22,008Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Seward 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 Seward 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 Seward 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
38Seward County, KS16104143.3$245K−3.6%#2,358 of 2,405

Other business types in Seward County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Seward County, KS?

There are 104 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Seward County as of September 2026. 45 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 21 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $25.5M a year, or $3,511 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 104 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $245K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,257 households in Seward County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Seward County has 143.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $245K, 34% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Seward County would have about 69, against 104 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 186 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Seward County, KS growing?

Population estimates put Seward County at 21,073 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,257 households. The median household income in Seward County is $63,827 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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. Seward County scores 16 for restaurants and cafes (low), #2,358 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Seward 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 Seward 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.