Food and drink · Metro area · Louisiana
Restaurants and cafes in the Alexandria, LA metro area
How the Alexandria, LA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #228 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 493
- 186 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 209
- +14.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $188.6M
- On food away from home · $3,344 a household
- Spending per listing
- $382K
- 3% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 87.4
- 20% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 147,952
- −2.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Alexandria metro 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 Alexandria metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 493 restaurants and cafes in the Alexandria metro area. Of those, 186 are chain locations, or 38%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 87.4, 20% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Alexandria metro area comes to about $188.6M a year: $3,344 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $382K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Alexandria metro area was 209 in 2023, up 14.8% from 2019. That is one for every 270 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 46 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $772K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Alexandria metro area.
Population estimates show the Alexandria metro area declined 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Alexandria metro area scores 44 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #228 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana.
How the Alexandria metro area compares
The same measures for Louisiana 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 | Alexandria metro area | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 87.4 | 110.6 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $382K | $314K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 270 | 225 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +14.8% | +5.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.5% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,344 | $3,469 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $56,353 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 44 | 19 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 209+14.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,156
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $82.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 46Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 493186 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 509The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $772K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Alexandria metro 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 Alexandria metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 147,952−2.5% since 2020
- Households
- 56,394
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,968 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 76
- Median household income
- $56,353+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,924
- Median home value
- $175,200
- Jobs located here
- 57,169
- Daytime population
- 151,507Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Alexandria metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Alexandria metro 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 Louisiana
Every Louisiana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Louisiana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with the Alexandria metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Alexandria, LA | 44 | 493 | 87.4 | $382K | −2.5% | #228 of 387 |
| 2Baton Rouge, LA | 43 | 3,427 | 103.0 | $361K | +2.1% | #240 of 387 |
| 3Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 41 | 1,243 | 118.3 | $340K | +5.3% | #255 of 387 |
| 4Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 38 | 796 | 99.6 | $348K | −3.5% | #276 of 387 |
| 5Monroe, LA | 35 | 812 | 93.3 | $344K | −1.9% | #296 of 387 |
| 6Hammond, LA | 34 | 525 | 101.0 | $328K | +5.8% | #306 of 387 |
| 7Lafayette, LA | 31 | 1,854 | 112.8 | $307K | +3.8% | #330 of 387 |
| 8Lake Charles, LA | 29 | 1,035 | 112.4 | $320K | −3.8% | #338 of 387 |
| 9Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 25 | 1,593 | 101.4 | $327K | −2.3% | #354 of 387 |
| 10New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 9 | 5,929 | 148.8 | $239K | −3.4% | #387 of 387 |
Other business types in the Alexandria metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes44
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops21
- Pizza49
- Coffee shops and cafes55
- 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 the Alexandria, LA metro area?
There are 493 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Alexandria metro area as of September 2026. 186 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 209 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 14.8% from 2019. Official counts list 46 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Alexandria, LA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $188.6M a year, or $3,344 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 493 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $382K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 56,394 households in the Alexandria metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Alexandria, LA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Alexandria metro area has 87.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $382K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Alexandria metro area would have about 509, against 493 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 270 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Alexandria, LA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Alexandria metro area at 147,952 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 56,394 households. The median household income in the Alexandria metro area is $56,353 a year, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.5% 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. The Alexandria metro area scores 44 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #228 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Alexandria metro 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 Alexandria metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alexandria metro 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 Alexandria metro 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.