Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Louisiana

Restaurants and cafes in the DeRidder, LA area

How the DeRidder, LA 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 80 out of 100: High

Ranked #27 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana

Listings
76
27 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
41
−2.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$48.8M
On food away from home · $3,550 a household
Spending per listing
$642K
73% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
55.3
50% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,673
+0.2% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the DeRidder 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 DeRidder area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 DeRidder area has a Groundwork market score of 80 (high): #27 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for restaurants and cafes.

Households in the DeRidder area spend about $48.8M a year on food away from home, or $3,550 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Spread across 76 restaurants and cafes, that is $642K per restaurant, 73% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 76 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the DeRidder area as of September 2026. Of those, 27 are chain locations, or 36%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 55.3 for every 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 41 businesses with payroll in the DeRidder area classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 2.4% from 2019. That is one for every 335 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates show the DeRidder area grew 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the DeRidder 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.

Restaurants and cafes in DeRidder, LA area compared with Louisiana and the U.S.
MeasureDeRidder areaLouisianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households55.3110.6109.8
Spending per listing$642K$314K$371K
Households per official establishment335225209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.4%+5.8%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.2%−0.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,550$3,469$4,070
Median household income$65,944$60,756$80,734
Groundwork market score8019

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
41−2.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
697
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
13Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7627 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
132The 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 DeRidder 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 DeRidder area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,673+0.2% since 2020
Households
13,747
Median age
37.5
Homes lived in by their owners
85%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,158 sq. mi.
People per square mile
32
Median household income
$65,944+23.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,451
Median home value
$161,700
Jobs located here
8,738
Daytime population
31,088Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Louisiana

Every Louisiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Louisiana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Louisiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the DeRidder area marked.

Top small-town markets in Louisiana

Small-town markets in Louisiana ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1DeRidder, LA807655.3$642K+0.2%#27 of 538
2Opelousas, LA5224475.8$384K−1.9%#239 of 538
3Bogalusa, LA5014481.3$363K−0.9%#261 of 538
4New Iberia, LA4124892.5$347K−4.6%#361 of 538
5Morgan City, LA32200108.3$287K−5.3%#444 of 538
Natchez, MS-LA32210101.3$286K−0.9%#445 of 538
6Minden, LA2413493.5$302K−5.2%#488 of 538
7Natchitoches, LA2214398.6$313K−3.5%#501 of 538
8Ruston, LA21198107.1$281K+0.1%#512 of 538

Other business types in the DeRidder area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the DeRidder, LA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 76 restaurants and cafes in the DeRidder area. 27 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 41 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 2.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the DeRidder, LA area spend on food away from home?

About $48.8M a year, or $3,550 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $642K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,747 households in the DeRidder area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the DeRidder, LA area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The DeRidder area has 55.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $642K, 73% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the DeRidder area would have about 132, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 335 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the DeRidder, LA area growing?

Population estimates put the DeRidder area at 36,673 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,747 households. Median household income in the DeRidder area is $65,944, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.9%, 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 DeRidder area scores 80 for restaurants and cafes (high), #27 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 DeRidder 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 DeRidder area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the DeRidder 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 DeRidder 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.