Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maryland

Restaurants and cafes in Anne Arundel County, MD

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Anne Arundel County, MD, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #590 of 2,405 scored counties
#13 of 24 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
2,193
1,009 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
1,091
+2.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.1B
On food away from home · $5,075 a household
Spending per listing
$520K
40% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
97.6
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
603,380
+1.7% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Anne Arundel 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 Anne Arundel 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 2,193 restaurants and cafes in Anne Arundel County. Chain locations make up 46% 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.

Households in Anne Arundel County spend about $1.1B a year on food away from home, or $5,075 per household, 25% above the U.S. average. Spread across 2,193 restaurants and cafes, that is $520K per restaurant, 40% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Anne Arundel County was 1,091 in 2023, up 2.4% from 2019. That is one for every 206 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 220 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 43 SBA-backed loans worth $19.3M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Anne Arundel County.

Population estimates show Anne Arundel County grew 1.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, Anne Arundel County has a Groundwork market score of 64 (upper middle): #590 of 2,405 scored counties and #13 of 24 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Anne Arundel County compares

The same measures for Maryland 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 Anne Arundel County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureAnne Arundel CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households97.695.7109.8
Spending per listing$520K$481K$371K
Households per official establishment206226209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.4%+2.8%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$5,075$4,604$4,070
Median household income$124,911$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score6474

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,066 → 1,091+2.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
25,844
Annual payroll, 2023
$650.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
220Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,1931,009 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3,076The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
43
Amount
$19.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
603,380+1.7% since 2020
Households
224,748
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
415 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,442
Median household income
$124,911+23.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$156,835
Median home value
$467,900
Jobs located here
269,614
Daytime population
605,412Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Maryland for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Maryland, with Anne Arundel County marked.

Top counties in Maryland

Counties in Maryland ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charles County, MD8246376.1$654K+5.9%#105 of 2,405
2Harford County, MD7871069.7$677K+2.0%#168 of 2,405
3Frederick County, MD771,01096.5$522K+11.0%#204 of 2,405
4Caroline County, MD767761.6$576K+2.5%#219 of 2,405
5Cecil County, MD7635387.0$483K+3.2%#223 of 2,405
6Queen Anne’s County, MD76206103.5$463K+8.8%#227 of 2,405
7Calvert County, MD7527883.1$632K+1.7%#230 of 2,405
8St. Mary’s County, MD7534581.3$606K+2.4%#234 of 2,405
9Carroll County, MD7352882.1$598K+2.2%#295 of 2,405
10Prince George’s County, MD722,72478.3$576K+0.5%#334 of 2,405
13Anne Arundel County, MD642,19397.6$520K+1.7%#590 of 2,405

Other business types in Anne Arundel County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Anne Arundel County, MD?

Anne Arundel County has 2,193 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 1,009 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,091 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 2.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 220 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Anne Arundel County, MD spend on food away from home?

About $1.1B a year, or $5,075 per household. That is 25% above the U.S. average (an index of 125, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,193 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $520K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 224,748 households in Anne Arundel County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Anne Arundel County, MD compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Anne Arundel County has 97.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $520K, 40% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Anne Arundel County would have about 3,076, against 2,193 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 206 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Anne Arundel County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Anne Arundel County at 603,380 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 224,748 households. The median household income in Anne Arundel County is $124,911 a year, 55% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.9% 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. Anne Arundel County scores 64 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #590 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Anne Arundel 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 Anne Arundel County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Anne Arundel 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 Anne Arundel 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.