Food and drink · Metro area · Maryland
Restaurants and cafes in the Salisbury, MD metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Salisbury, MD metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #166 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 4 scored metro areas based in Maryland
- Listings
- 488
- 180 chain locations (37%)
- Official establishments
- 198
- +1.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $181.2M
- On food away from home · $3,713 a household
- Spending per listing
- $371K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 100.0
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 131,872
- +2.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Salisbury metro 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 Salisbury metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 488 restaurants and cafes in the Salisbury metro area. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 100.0 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Salisbury metro area comes to about $181.2M a year: $3,713 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 488 restaurants and cafes, that is $371K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Salisbury metro area was 198 in 2023, up 1.0% from 2019. That is one for every 247 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 51 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Salisbury metro area grew 2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Salisbury metro area is 54 (upper middle), #166 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 4 scored metro areas based in Maryland.
How the Salisbury metro 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 | Salisbury metro area | Maryland | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 100.0 | 95.7 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $371K | $481K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 247 | 226 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.0% | +2.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.9% | +1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,713 | $4,604 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $73,802 | $103,678 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 74 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 198+1.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,716
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $77.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 51Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 488180 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 489The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Salisbury metro 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 Salisbury metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 131,872+2.9% since 2020
- Households
- 48,818
- Median age
- 37.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 694 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 187
- Median household income
- $73,802
- Average household income
- $94,881
- Median home value
- $241,200
- Jobs located here
- 49,837
- Daytime population
- 123,772Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Salisbury metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Salisbury metro 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 metro areas in Maryland for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Maryland (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Salisbury metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Maryland
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lexington Park, MD | 84 | 623 | 82.1 | $618K | +2.1% | #6 of 387 |
| 2Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 80 | 1,043 | 88.3 | $434K | +7.1% | #15 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 71 | 25,241 | 106.4 | $483K | +3.3% | #50 of 387 |
| 3Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 67 | 10,954 | 97.8 | $460K | +0.4% | #76 of 387 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 60 | 26,413 | 107.0 | $407K | +1.4% | #128 of 387 |
| 4Salisbury, MD | 54 | 488 | 100.0 | $371K | +2.9% | #166 of 387 |
Other business types in the Salisbury metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants51
- Fast food and sandwich shops36
- Pizza40
- Coffee shops and cafes65
- Bakeries and dessert shops48
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 Salisbury, MD metro area?
There are 488 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Salisbury metro area as of September 2026. 180 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 198 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 1.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 51 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Salisbury, MD metro area spend on food away from home?
About $181.2M a year, or $3,713 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 488 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $371K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 48,818 households in the Salisbury metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Salisbury, MD metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Salisbury metro area has 100.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $371K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Salisbury metro area would have about 489, against 488 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 247 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Salisbury, MD metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Salisbury metro area at 131,872 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 48,818 households. The median household income in the Salisbury metro area is $73,802 a year, 9% below 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. 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 Salisbury metro area scores 54 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #166 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Salisbury metro 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 Salisbury metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Salisbury metro 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 Salisbury metro 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.