Food and drink · County · Kentucky
Restaurants and cafes in Nicholas County, KY
The restaurants and cafes in Nicholas County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 14
- 4 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $8.4M
- On food away from home · $3,038 a household
- Spending per listing
- $602K
- 62% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 50.4
- 54% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 7,949
- +5.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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 14 restaurants and cafes in Nicholas County. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 50.4 per 10,000 households, 54% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in Nicholas County spend about $8.4M a year on food away from home, or $3,038 per household, 25% below the U.S. average. Spread across 14 restaurants and cafes, that is $602K per restaurant, 62% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Nicholas County in 2023. That is one for every 925 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Nicholas County grew 5.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Nicholas 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 | Nicholas County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 50.4 | 89.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $602K | $390K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 925 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.0% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,038 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $59,531 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4 → 3
- Employees, 2023
- 16
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $152K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 144 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 23The 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,949+5.4% since 2020
- Households
- 2,776
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 195 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 39
- Median household income
- $59,531
- Average household income
- $64,385
- Median home value
- $123,000
- Jobs located here
- 779
- Daytime population
- 5,514Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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 |
| Nicholas County, KY | Not scored | 14 | 50.4 | $602K | +5.4% |
Other business types in Nicholas County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Nicholas County, KY?
Nicholas County has 14 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Nicholas County, KY spend on food away from home?
About $8.4M a year, or $3,038 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $602K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,776 households in Nicholas County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Nicholas County, KY compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Nicholas County has 50.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 54% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $602K, 62% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Nicholas County would have about 23, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 925 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Nicholas County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Nicholas County at 7,949 people in 2025, up 5.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,776 households. The median household income in Nicholas County is $59,531 a year, 26% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Nicholas 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 Nicholas County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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.