Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maine

Restaurants and cafes in Oxford County, ME

How Oxford County, ME 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #882 of 2,405 scored counties
#6 of 16 scored counties in Maine

Listings
207
35 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
87
−7.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$82.3M
On food away from home · $3,411 a household
Spending per listing
$398K
7% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
85.7
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
60,346
+4.2% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Oxford 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 Oxford County. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 207 restaurants and cafes in Oxford County. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 85.7, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Oxford County comes to about $82.3M a year: $3,411 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That works out to $398K per restaurant, 7% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

In 2023, official counts showed 87 businesses with payroll in Oxford County classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 7.4% from 2019. That is one for every 277 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.5M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Oxford County.

Population estimates put the population change in Oxford County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Oxford County scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #882 of 2,405 scored counties and #6 of 16 scored counties in Maine.

How Oxford County compares

The same measures for Maine 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 Oxford County, ME compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureOxford CountyMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households85.7111.6109.8
Spending per listing$398K$344K$371K
Households per official establishment277197209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−7.4%+2.1%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,411$3,835$4,070
Median household income$60,173$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score5735

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
94 → 87−7.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,072
Annual payroll, 2023
$24.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
13Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
20735 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
222The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$1.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Oxford 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 Oxford County

Population, 2025 estimate
60,346+4.2% since 2020
Households
24,140
Median age
46.9
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,077 sq. mi.
People per square mile
29
Median household income
$60,173+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,916
Median home value
$217,300
Jobs located here
17,529
Daytime population
49,370Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Maine

Every Maine market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Maine for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Maine, with Oxford County marked.

Top counties in Maine

Counties in Maine ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sagadahoc County, ME7212374.8$540K+3.4%#336 of 2,405
2Waldo County, ME6614080.1$452K+2.6%#517 of 2,405
3Penobscot County, ME6155585.1$423K+3.8%#722 of 2,405
4Androscoggin County, ME5938080.9$439K+4.8%#800 of 2,405
5Somerset County, ME5816671.5$454K+2.3%#825 of 2,405
6Oxford County, ME5720785.7$398K+4.2%#882 of 2,405
7Kennebec County, ME5647286.9$415K+3.5%#920 of 2,405
8Aroostook County, ME5121872.8$449K−0.7%#1,121 of 2,405
9Piscataquis County, ME487387.1$381K+3.5%#1,275 of 2,405
10York County, ME451,123122.8$337K+4.8%#1,419 of 2,405

Other business types in Oxford County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Oxford County, ME?

There are 207 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Oxford County as of September 2026. 35 of them (17%) 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, down 7.4% from 2019. Another 13 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Oxford County, ME spend on food away from home?

About $82.3M a year, or $3,411 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 207 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $398K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,140 households in Oxford County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Oxford County, ME compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Oxford County has 85.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $398K, 7% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Oxford County would have about 222, against 207 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 277 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Oxford County, ME growing?

Population estimates put Oxford County at 60,346 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,140 households. The median household income in Oxford County is $60,173 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.3% 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. Oxford County scores 57 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #882 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Oxford 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 Oxford County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Oxford 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 Oxford 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.