Food and drink · County · Kentucky
Restaurants and cafes in Lawrence County, KY
How Lawrence 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 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #898 of 2,405 scored counties
#48 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 35
- 19 chain locations (54%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $18.9M
- On food away from home · $2,972 a household
- Spending per listing
- $539K
- 45% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 55.2
- 50% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 15,765
- −3.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 35 restaurants and cafes in Lawrence County. Chain locations make up 54% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 55.2 for every 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $2,972 per household (27% below the U.S. average), households in Lawrence County spend about $18.9M a year on food away from home. Spread across 35 restaurants and cafes, that is $539K per restaurant, 45% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lawrence County in 2023. That is one for every 423 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Lawrence County from 2020 to 2025 at −3.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For restaurants and cafes, Lawrence County has a Groundwork market score of 56 (upper middle): #898 of 2,405 scored counties and #48 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky.
How Lawrence 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.
| Measure | Lawrence County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 55.2 | 89.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $539K | $390K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 423 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.0% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.3% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,972 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $46,772 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 16 → 15
- Employees, 2023
- 371
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3519 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 51The 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 15,765−3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 6,342
- Median age
- 42.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 416 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 39
- Median household income
- $46,772+42.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $65,772
- Median home value
- $111,700
- Jobs located here
- 3,850
- Daytime population
- 14,920Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County. 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Lawrence County marked.
Top counties in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spencer County, KY | 94 | 31 | 42.4 | $1M | +7.7% | #5 of 2,405 |
| 2Oldham County, KY | 87 | 151 | 65.6 | $763K | +4.9% | #41 of 2,405 |
| 3Bullitt County, KY | 85 | 208 | 65.5 | $593K | +5.0% | #64 of 2,405 |
| 4Henry County, KY | 79 | 31 | 50.4 | $662K | +4.8% | #145 of 2,405 |
| 5Scott County, KY | 79 | 187 | 82.6 | $492K | +8.2% | #159 of 2,405 |
| 6Meade County, KY | 78 | 65 | 59.1 | $637K | +2.2% | #169 of 2,405 |
| 7Jessamine County, KY | 78 | 126 | 63.3 | $600K | +7.8% | #171 of 2,405 |
| 8Lincoln County, KY | 77 | 38 | 39.2 | $792K | +4.6% | #185 of 2,405 |
| 9Allen County, KY | 77 | 46 | 57.2 | $559K | +9.5% | #197 of 2,405 |
| 10Garrard County, KY | 77 | 40 | 59.7 | $544K | +7.3% | #200 of 2,405 |
| 48Lawrence County, KY | 56 | 35 | 55.2 | $539K | −3.3% | #898 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Lawrence County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants58
- Fast food and sandwich shops27
- Pizza27
- Coffee shops and cafes
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Lawrence County, KY?
Lawrence County has 35 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 19 of them (54%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Lawrence County, KY spend on food away from home?
About $18.9M a year, or $2,972 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $539K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,342 households in Lawrence County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lawrence County, KY compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Lawrence County has 55.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $539K, 45% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Lawrence County would have about 51, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 423 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Lawrence County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Lawrence County at 15,765 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,342 households. The median household income in Lawrence County is $46,772 a year, 42% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 42.6% 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. Lawrence County scores 56 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #898 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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.