Food and drink · Small-town market · Kentucky
Restaurants and cafes in the Middlesborough, KY area
How the Middlesborough, KY 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 8 out of 100: Very low
Ranked #538 of 538 scored small-town markets
#15 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 100
- 56 chain locations (56%)
- Official establishments
- 49
- +8.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $25.5M
- On food away from home · $2,566 a household
- Spending per listing
- $255K
- 31% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 100.6
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 22,829
- −4.8% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area has a Groundwork market score of 8 (very low): #538 of 538 scored small-town markets and #15 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on food away from home in the Middlesborough area comes to about $25.5M a year: $2,566 per household, 37% below the U.S. average. That is about $255K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 31% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 100 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Middlesborough area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 56% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 100.6, 8% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Middlesborough area in 2023, up 8.9% from 2019. That is one for every 203 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Middlesborough area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Middlesborough area 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 | Middlesborough area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 100.6 | 89.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $255K | $390K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 203 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.9% | +5.0% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.8% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,566 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $31,354 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 8 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 49+8.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 953
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10056 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 the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 22,829−4.8% since 2020
- Households
- 9,939
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 359 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 65
- Median household income
- $31,354+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $49,259
- Median home value
- $89,000
- Jobs located here
- 7,622
- Daytime population
- 23,467Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kentucky for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with the Middlesborough area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Richmond-Berea, KY | 79 | 358 | 72.2 | $463K | +7.0% | #33 of 538 |
| 2Mount Sterling, KY | 77 | 115 | 63.3 | $501K | +3.1% | #40 of 538 |
| 3Campbellsville, KY | 73 | 101 | 68.8 | $457K | +3.4% | #61 of 538 |
| 4Mayfield, KY | 72 | 85 | 60.1 | $522K | +1.4% | #63 of 538 |
| 5Frankfort, KY | 65 | 291 | 89.9 | $396K | +3.1% | #127 of 538 |
| 6Danville, KY | 63 | 182 | 83.7 | $386K | +3.6% | #144 of 538 |
| 7Corbin, KY | 60 | 383 | 67.7 | $433K | +0.1% | #166 of 538 |
| 8Somerset, KY | 59 | 219 | 83.6 | $370K | +3.5% | #179 of 538 |
| 9Henderson, KY | 58 | 179 | 76.3 | $427K | −0.9% | #184 of 538 |
| 10Madisonville, KY | 56 | 150 | 81.5 | $387K | −0.5% | #200 of 538 |
| 15Middlesborough, KY | 8 | 100 | 100.6 | $255K | −4.8% | #538 of 538 |
Other business types in the Middlesborough area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes8
- Sit-down restaurants19
- Fast food and sandwich shops2
- Pizza2
- Coffee shops and cafes25
- Bakeries and dessert shops39
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 Middlesborough, KY area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 100 restaurants and cafes in the Middlesborough area. 56 of them (56%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 8.9% from 2019. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Middlesborough, KY area spend on food away from home?
About $25.5M a year, or $2,566 per household. That is 37% below the U.S. average (an index of 63, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 100 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $255K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,939 households in the Middlesborough area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Middlesborough, KY area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Middlesborough area has 100.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $255K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Middlesborough area would have about 69, against 100 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 203 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Middlesborough, KY area growing?
Population estimates put the Middlesborough area at 22,829 people in 2025, down 4.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,939 households. Median household income in the Middlesborough area is $31,354, 61% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.3%, 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 Middlesborough area scores 8 for restaurants and cafes (very low), #538 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 Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough 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.