Food and drink · Small-town market · Massachusetts
Restaurants and cafes in the Nantucket, MA area
How the Nantucket, MA 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 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #404 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 3 scored small-town markets based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 158
- 8 chain locations (5%)
- Official establishments
- 80
- −8.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $29.3M
- On food away from home · $5,575 a household
- Spending per listing
- $185K
- 50% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 300.8
- 2.7 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 14,758
- +3.6% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Nantucket 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 Nantucket 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Nantucket area comes to about $29.3M a year: $5,575 per household, 37% above the U.S. average. Spread across 158 restaurants and cafes, that is $185K per restaurant, 50% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 158 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Nantucket area as of September 2026. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 5%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 300.8 per 10,000 households, 2.7 times the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Nantucket area was 80 in 2023, down 8.0% from 2019. That is one for every 66 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 13 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $3.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Nantucket area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Nantucket area grew 3.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Nantucket area is 37 (lower middle), #404 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 3 scored small-town markets based in Massachusetts.
How the Nantucket 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 | Nantucket area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 300.8 | 106.3 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $185K | $441K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 66 | 191 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −8.0% | +1.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $5,575 | $4,685 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $139,688 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 80−8.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 486
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $63.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1588 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 79The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $3.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Nantucket 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 Nantucket area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 14,758+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 5,252
- Median age
- 42.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 46 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 314
- Median household income
- $139,688
- Average household income
- $205,560
- Median home value
- $1,593,800
- Jobs located here
- 6,570
- Daytime population
- 13,667Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Nantucket 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 Nantucket 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 small-town markets in Massachusetts for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Massachusetts, with the Nantucket area marked.
Top small-town markets in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greenfield, MA | 63 | 297 | 94.1 | $402K | −0.3% | #141 of 538 |
| 2Nantucket, MA | 37 | 158 | 300.8 | $185K | +3.6% | #404 of 538 |
| 3Vineyard Haven, MA | 36 | 232 | 305.9 | $164K | +3.1% | #412 of 538 |
Other business types in the Nantucket area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes37
- Sit-down restaurants37
- Fast food and sandwich shops70
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes39
- Bakeries and dessert shops37
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 Nantucket, MA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 158 restaurants and cafes in the Nantucket area. 8 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 80 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 8.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Nantucket, MA area spend on food away from home?
About $29.3M a year, or $5,575 per household. That is 37% above the U.S. average (an index of 137, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 158 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $185K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,252 households in the Nantucket area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Nantucket, MA area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Nantucket area has 300.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2.7 times the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $185K, 50% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Nantucket area would have about 79, against 158 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 fell 8.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Nantucket, MA area growing?
Population estimates put the Nantucket area at 14,758 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,252 households. Median household income in the Nantucket area is $139,688, 73% above 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 Nantucket area scores 37 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #404 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 Nantucket 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 Nantucket area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Nantucket 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 Nantucket 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.