Food and drink · County · Louisiana
Restaurants and cafes in Rapides Parish, LA
The restaurants and cafes in Rapides Parish, LA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #2,058 of 2,405 scored counties
#44 of 56 scored counties in Louisiana
- Listings
- 478
- 186 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 203
- +11.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $163M
- On food away from home · $3,330 a household
- Spending per listing
- $341K
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 97.6
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 125,877
- −2.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Rapides Parish
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 Rapides Parish. 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in Rapides Parish is 29 (lower middle), #2,058 of 2,405 scored counties and #44 of 56 scored counties in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
At $3,330 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in Rapides Parish spend about $163M a year on food away from home. That works out to $341K per restaurant, 8% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Rapides Parish has 478 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 97.6, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Rapides Parish was 203 in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. That is one for every 241 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $772K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Rapides Parish. Population estimates put the population change in Rapides Parish from 2020 to 2025 at −2.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Rapides Parish 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 | Rapides Parish | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 97.6 | 110.6 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $341K | $314K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 241 | 225 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.5% | +5.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.9% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,330 | $3,469 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $54,967 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 19 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 182 → 203+11.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,120
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $82.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 39Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 478186 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 440The 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 Rapides Parish, 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 Rapides Parish
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 125,877−2.9% since 2020
- Households
- 48,954
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,324 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 96
- Median household income
- $54,967+16.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,854
- Median home value
- $181,100
- Jobs located here
- 54,365
- Daytime population
- 133,944Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Rapides Parish?
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 Rapides Parish. 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 counties in Louisiana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with Rapides Parish marked.
Top counties in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Grant Parish, LA | 74 | 15 | 20.2 | $1.7M | −0.3% | #253 of 2,405 |
| 2East Feliciana Parish, LA | 74 | 31 | 48.4 | $773K | −2.8% | #254 of 2,405 |
| 3Livingston Parish, LA | 74 | 424 | 79.1 | $476K | +8.5% | #275 of 2,405 |
| 4Beauregard Parish, LA | 70 | 76 | 55.3 | $642K | +0.2% | #391 of 2,405 |
| 5Winn Parish, LA | 69 | 31 | 64.7 | $477K | +9.1% | #431 of 2,405 |
| 6Ascension Parish, LA | 68 | 448 | 94.0 | $454K | +6.4% | #456 of 2,405 |
| 7De Soto Parish, LA | 66 | 69 | 65.7 | $487K | +2.0% | #509 of 2,405 |
| 8St. Helena Parish, LA | 65 | 13 | 31.1 | $919K | −1.2% | #530 of 2,405 |
| 9Assumption Parish, LA | 64 | 36 | 40.8 | $793K | −5.9% | #582 of 2,405 |
| 10Jackson Parish, LA | 61 | 37 | 66.4 | $436K | +5.6% | #720 of 2,405 |
| 44Rapides Parish, LA | 29 | 478 | 97.6 | $341K | −2.9% | #2,058 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Rapides Parish
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes29
- Sit-down restaurants39
- Fast food and sandwich shops17
- Pizza43
- Coffee shops and cafes47
- Bakeries and dessert shops27
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 Rapides Parish, LA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 478 restaurants and cafes in Rapides Parish. 186 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 203 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. Another 39 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Rapides Parish, LA spend on food away from home?
About $163M a year, or $3,330 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 478 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $341K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 48,954 households in Rapides Parish and national spending patterns by income.
How does Rapides Parish, LA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Rapides Parish has 97.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $341K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Rapides Parish would have about 440, against 478 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 241 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Rapides Parish, LA growing?
Population estimates put Rapides Parish at 125,877 people in 2025, down 2.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 48,954 households. Median household income in Rapides Parish is $54,967, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.3%, 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. 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. Rapides Parish scores 29 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #2,058 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rapides Parish. 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 Rapides Parish
Screening a site or an acquisition in Rapides Parish?
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 Rapides Parish. 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.