Food and drink · Metro area · Massachusetts
Restaurants and cafes in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #101 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 21,147
- 5,668 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 10,567
- +2.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $9.6B
- On food away from home · $4,945 a household
- Spending per listing
- $454K
- 22% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 109.0
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,034,221
- +2.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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
At $4,945 per household (21% above the U.S. average), households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area spend about $9.6B a year on food away from home. That works out to $454K per restaurant, 22% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 21,147 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 109.0 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 10,567 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area in 2023, up 2.2% from 2019. That is one for every 184 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 1,637 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 615 SBA-backed loans worth $246.5M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is 64 (upper middle), #101 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts.
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 109.0 | 106.3 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $454K | $441K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 184 | 191 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.2% | +1.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,945 | $4,685 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $115,863 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10,567+2.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 184,482
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.6B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,637Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 21,1475,668 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25,881The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 615
- Amount
- $246.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,034,221+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,940,688
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 3,486 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,421
- Median household income
- $115,863+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $159,721
- Median home value
- $646,300
- Jobs located here
- 2,811,395
- Daytime population
- 5,216,901Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Worcester, MA | 78 | 3,064 | 91.2 | $486K | +3.7% | #22 of 387 |
| 2Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 65 | 644 | 103.7 | $406K | +10.4% | #96 of 387 |
| 3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 64 | 21,147 | 109.0 | $454K | +2.3% | #101 of 387 |
| 4Springfield, MA | 62 | 1,665 | 90.3 | $418K | +0.2% | #111 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 45 | 7,489 | 110.9 | $377K | +2.1% | #220 of 387 |
| 5Barnstable Town, MA | 32 | 1,590 | 150.3 | $298K | +2.4% | #323 of 387 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 19 | 773 | 134.2 | $292K | −1.2% | #373 of 387 |
Other business types in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes64
- Sit-down restaurants59
- Fast food and sandwich shops76
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes47
- Bakeries and dessert shops45
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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 21,147 restaurants and cafes in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. 5,668 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 10,567 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 2.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,637 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area spend on food away from home?
About $9.6B a year, or $4,945 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21,147 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $454K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,940,688 households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has 109.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $454K, 22% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area would have about 25,881, against 21,147 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 184 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area at 5,034,221 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,940,688 households. Median household income in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is $115,863, 44% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area scores 64 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #101 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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.