Food and drink · Small-town market · Louisiana
Restaurants and cafes in the Ruston, LA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Ruston, LA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 21 out of 100: Low
Ranked #512 of 538 scored small-town markets
#8 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 198
- 95 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 87
- +6.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $55.6M
- On food away from home · $3,005 a household
- Spending per listing
- $281K
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 107.1
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 48,360
- +0.1% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Ruston area is 21 (low), #512 of 538 scored small-town markets and #8 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 198 restaurants and cafes in the Ruston area. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 107.1 per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Ruston area comes to about $55.6M a year: $3,005 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. Spread across 198 restaurants and cafes, that is $281K per restaurant, 24% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 87 businesses with payroll in the Ruston area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 6.1% from 2019. That is one for every 212 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $113K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ruston area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ruston area grew 0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ruston 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 | Ruston area | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 107.1 | 110.6 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $281K | $314K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 212 | 225 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.1% | +5.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,005 | $3,469 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $39,172 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 21 | 19 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 87+6.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,890
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $32.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 17Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 19895 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 150The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $113K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ruston 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 Ruston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 48,360+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 18,487
- Median age
- 32.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 472 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 102
- Median household income
- $39,172+10.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $66,113
- Median home value
- $210,100
- Jobs located here
- 18,570
- Daytime population
- 48,307Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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 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 Ruston area marked.
Top small-town markets in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeRidder, LA | 80 | 76 | 55.3 | $642K | +0.2% | #27 of 538 |
| 2Opelousas, LA | 52 | 244 | 75.8 | $384K | −1.9% | #239 of 538 |
| 3Bogalusa, LA | 50 | 144 | 81.3 | $363K | −0.9% | #261 of 538 |
| 4New Iberia, LA | 41 | 248 | 92.5 | $347K | −4.6% | #361 of 538 |
| 5Morgan City, LA | 32 | 200 | 108.3 | $287K | −5.3% | #444 of 538 |
| Natchez, MS-LA | 32 | 210 | 101.3 | $286K | −0.9% | #445 of 538 |
| 6Minden, LA | 24 | 134 | 93.5 | $302K | −5.2% | #488 of 538 |
| 7Natchitoches, LA | 22 | 143 | 98.6 | $313K | −3.5% | #501 of 538 |
| 8Ruston, LA | 21 | 198 | 107.1 | $281K | +0.1% | #512 of 538 |
Other business types in the Ruston area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes21
- Sit-down restaurants30
- Fast food and sandwich shops17
- Pizza27
- Coffee shops and cafes23
- Bakeries and dessert shops23
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 Ruston, LA area?
There are 198 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Ruston area as of September 2026. 95 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 87 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 6.1% from 2019. Official counts list 17 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ruston, LA area spend on food away from home?
About $55.6M a year, or $3,005 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 198 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $281K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,487 households in the Ruston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ruston, LA area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Ruston area has 107.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $281K, 24% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Ruston area would have about 150, against 198 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 212 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ruston, LA area growing?
Population estimates put the Ruston area at 48,360 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,487 households. The median household income in the Ruston area is $39,172 a year, 51% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 10.5% 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. 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 Ruston area scores 21 for restaurants and cafes (low), #512 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 Ruston 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 Ruston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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.