Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Restaurants and cafes in Leslie County, KY

The restaurants and cafes in Leslie County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #738 of 2,405 scored counties
#42 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
14
8 chain locations (57%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$11.6M
On food away from home · $2,746 a household
Spending per listing
$830K
2.2 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
33.1
70% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,627
−8.0% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Leslie 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 Leslie 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

Household spending on food away from home in Leslie County comes to about $11.6M a year: $2,746 per household, 33% below the U.S. average. That is about $830K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $371K.

Leslie County has 14 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 57% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 33.1, 70% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Leslie County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 1,058 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Leslie County from 2020 to 2025 at −8.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For restaurants and cafes, Leslie County has a Groundwork market score of 60 (upper middle): #738 of 2,405 scored counties and #42 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Leslie 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 Leslie County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureLeslie CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households33.189.4109.8
Spending per listing$830K$390K$371K
Households per official establishment1,058260209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.0%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−8.0%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,746$3,489$4,070
Median household income$35,934$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score6058

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 4
Employees, 2023
66
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
148 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
31The 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 Leslie 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 Leslie County

Population, 2025 estimate
9,627−8.0% since 2020
Households
4,231
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
86%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
401 sq. mi.
People per square mile
25
Median household income
$35,934+13.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$54,921
Median home value
$69,000
Jobs located here
1,492
Daytime population
8,917Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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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 Leslie 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
42Leslie County, KY601433.1$830K−8.0%#738 of 2,405

Other business types in Leslie County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 restaurants and cafes in Leslie County. 8 of them (57%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

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

About $11.6M a year, or $2,746 per household. That is 33% below the U.S. average (an index of 67, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $830K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,231 households in Leslie County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Leslie County has 33.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 70% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $830K, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Leslie County would have about 31, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,058 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Leslie County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Leslie County at 9,627 people in 2025, down 8.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,231 households. Median household income in Leslie County is $35,934, 55% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 13.6%, 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. Leslie County scores 60 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #738 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Leslie 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 Leslie 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.