Food and drink · County · Kentucky
Restaurants and cafes in Perry County, KY
How Perry 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 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,972 of 2,405 scored counties
#87 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 95
- 53 chain locations (56%)
- Official establishments
- 36
- −14.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $32.6M
- On food away from home · $2,945 a household
- Spending per listing
- $343K
- 7% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 85.8
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 26,555
- −6.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Perry 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 Perry 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
For restaurants and cafes, Perry County has a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle): #1,972 of 2,405 scored counties and #87 of 99 scored counties in Kentucky. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on food away from home in Perry County comes to about $32.6M a year: $2,945 per household, 28% below the U.S. average. That is about $343K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Perry County has 95 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 53 are chain locations, or 56%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 85.8 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Perry County in 2023, down 14.3% from 2019. That is one for every 308 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates show Perry County declined 6.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Perry 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 | Perry County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 85.8 | 89.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $343K | $390K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 308 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −14.3% | +5.0% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −6.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,945 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $42,181 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 42 → 36−14.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 768
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $14.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9553 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 88The 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 Perry 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 Perry County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 26,555−6.4% since 2020
- Households
- 11,078
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 340 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 81
- Median household income
- $42,181+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,788
- Median home value
- $91,800
- Jobs located here
- 11,440
- Daytime population
- 30,248Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Perry 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 Perry 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 Perry 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 |
| 87Perry County, KY | 31 | 95 | 85.8 | $343K | −6.4% | #1,972 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Perry County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes31
- Sit-down restaurants32
- Fast food and sandwich shops16
- Pizza10
- Coffee shops and cafes39
- Bakeries and dessert shops29
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 Perry County, KY?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 95 restaurants and cafes in Perry County. 53 of them (56%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 14.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Perry County, KY spend on food away from home?
About $32.6M a year, or $2,945 per household. That is 28% below the U.S. average (an index of 72, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 95 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $343K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,078 households in Perry County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Perry County, KY compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Perry County has 85.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $343K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Perry County would have about 88, against 95 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 308 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 14.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Perry County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Perry County at 26,555 people in 2025, down 6.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 11,078 households. Median household income in Perry County is $42,181, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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. Perry County scores 31 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #1,972 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Perry 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 Perry County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Perry 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 Perry 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.