Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Restaurants and cafes in Allen County, KY

How Allen County, KY 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 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #197 of 2,405 scored counties
#9 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
46
18 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
18
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$25.7M
On food away from home · $3,200 a household
Spending per listing
$559K
51% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
57.2
48% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
22,536
+9.5% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Allen 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 Allen 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

For restaurants and cafes, Allen County has a Groundwork market score of 77 (high): #197 of 2,405 scored counties and #9 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for restaurants and cafes.

At $3,200 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in Allen County spend about $25.7M a year on food away from home. That is about $559K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 51% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 46 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Allen County as of September 2026. Of those, 18 are chain locations, or 39%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 57.2 per 10,000 households, 48% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Allen County was 18 in 2023. That is one for every 446 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Allen County from 2020 to 2025 at +9.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Allen County compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Allen County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureAllen CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households57.289.4109.8
Spending per listing$559K$390K$371K
Households per official establishment446260209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.0%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.5%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,200$3,489$4,070
Median household income$61,403$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score7758

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18 → 18
Employees, 2023
341
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
12Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4618 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 Allen 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 Allen County

Population, 2025 estimate
22,536+9.5% since 2020
Households
8,035
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
344 sq. mi.
People per square mile
62
Median household income
$61,403+39.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,596
Median home value
$192,300
Jobs located here
5,263
Daytime population
18,127Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Allen 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 Allen 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spencer County, KY943142.4$1M+7.7%#5 of 2,405
2Oldham County, KY8715165.6$763K+4.9%#41 of 2,405
3Bullitt County, KY8520865.5$593K+5.0%#64 of 2,405
4Henry County, KY793150.4$662K+4.8%#145 of 2,405
5Scott County, KY7918782.6$492K+8.2%#159 of 2,405
6Meade County, KY786559.1$637K+2.2%#169 of 2,405
7Jessamine County, KY7812663.3$600K+7.8%#171 of 2,405
8Lincoln County, KY773839.2$792K+4.6%#185 of 2,405
9Allen County, KY774657.2$559K+9.5%#197 of 2,405
10Garrard County, KY774059.7$544K+7.3%#200 of 2,405

Other business types in Allen County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Allen County, KY?

As of September 2026, map listings count 46 restaurants and cafes in Allen County. 18 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Allen County, KY spend on food away from home?

About $25.7M a year, or $3,200 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 46 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $559K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,035 households in Allen County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Allen County, KY compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Allen County has 57.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 48% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $559K, 51% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Allen County would have about 69, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 446 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Allen County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Allen County at 22,536 people in 2025, up 9.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,035 households. Median household income in Allen County is $61,403, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.4%, 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. Allen County scores 77 for restaurants and cafes (high), #197 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Allen 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 Allen 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.