Food and drink · Small-town market · Maryland
Restaurants and cafes in the Ocean Pines, MD area
How the Ocean Pines, MD 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #424 of 538 scored small-town markets
#4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Maryland
- Listings
- 839
- 220 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 366
- +13.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $98.3M
- On food away from home · $4,074 a household
- Spending per listing
- $117K
- 68% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 347.6
- 3.2 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,459
- +3.7% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Ocean Pines 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 Ocean Pines 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 Ocean Pines area is 35 (lower middle), #424 of 538 scored small-town markets and #4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Maryland. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
As of September 2026, map listings count 839 restaurants and cafes in the Ocean Pines area. Chain locations make up 26% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 347.6 per 10,000 households, 3.2 times the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Ocean Pines area comes to about $98.3M a year: $4,074 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $117K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 68% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 366 businesses with payroll in the Ocean Pines area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 13.7% from 2019. That is one for every 66 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $3M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ocean Pines area. Population estimates put the population change in the Ocean Pines area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ocean Pines area 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.
| Measure | Ocean Pines area | Maryland | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 347.6 | 95.7 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $117K | $481K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 66 | 226 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +13.7% | +2.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.7% | +1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,074 | $4,604 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $81,745 | $103,678 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 74 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 366+13.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,981
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $187.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 32Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 839220 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 265The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 9
- Amount
- $3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ocean Pines 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 Ocean Pines area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 54,459+3.7% since 2020
- Households
- 24,136
- Median age
- 50.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 468 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $81,745
- Average household income
- $117,610
- Median home value
- $374,700
- Jobs located here
- 22,476
- Daytime population
- 52,245Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ocean Pines 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 Ocean Pines 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 Maryland
Every Maryland market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Maryland for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Maryland, with the Ocean Pines area marked.
Top small-town markets in Maryland
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cambridge, MD | 60 | 139 | 102.6 | $339K | +3.4% | #172 of 538 |
| 2Cumberland, MD-WV | 48 | 350 | 90.9 | $363K | −1.3% | #277 of 538 |
| 3Easton, MD | 40 | 239 | 145.4 | $287K | +2.0% | #379 of 538 |
| 4Ocean Pines, MD | 35 | 839 | 347.6 | $117K | +3.7% | #424 of 538 |
Other business types in the Ocean Pines area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants35
- Fast food and sandwich shops37
- Pizza36
- Coffee shops and cafes38
- Bakeries and dessert shops35
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 Ocean Pines, MD area?
The Ocean Pines area has 839 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 220 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 366 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 13.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 32 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ocean Pines, MD area spend on food away from home?
About $98.3M a year, or $4,074 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 839 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $117K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,136 households in the Ocean Pines area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ocean Pines, MD area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Ocean Pines area has 347.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 3.2 times the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $117K, 68% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Ocean Pines area would have about 265, against 839 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 66 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ocean Pines, MD area growing?
Population estimates put the Ocean Pines area at 54,459 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,136 households. The median household income in the Ocean Pines area is $81,745 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Ocean Pines area scores 35 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #424 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 Ocean Pines 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 Ocean Pines area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ocean Pines 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 Ocean Pines 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.