Food and drink · Small-town market · Michigan
Restaurants and cafes in the Big Rapids, MI area
The restaurants and cafes in the Big Rapids, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #84 of 538 scored small-town markets
#7 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 128
- 51 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 64
- +8.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $55.6M
- On food away from home · $3,329 a household
- Spending per listing
- $435K
- 17% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 76.6
- 30% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,320
- +4.7% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 128 restaurants and cafes in the Big Rapids area. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 76.6 per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Big Rapids area comes to about $55.6M a year: $3,329 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Spread across 128 restaurants and cafes, that is $435K per restaurant, 17% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 64 businesses with payroll in the Big Rapids area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 8.5% from 2019. That is one for every 261 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 8 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Big Rapids area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Big Rapids area grew 4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Big Rapids area has a Groundwork market score of 69 (upper middle): #84 of 538 scored small-town markets and #7 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Big Rapids area compares
The same measures for Michigan 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 | Big Rapids area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 76.6 | 91.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $435K | $422K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 261 | 241 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.5% | +4.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.7% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,329 | $3,875 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $60,951 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 69 | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 64+8.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,003
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $19.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 12851 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 150The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,320+4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,708
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 555 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 74
- Median household income
- $60,951+35.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,230
- Median home value
- $178,900
- Jobs located here
- 11,143
- Daytime population
- 38,247Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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 Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Big Rapids area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 86 | 367 | 80.6 | $501K | +2.1% | #8 of 538 |
| 2Hillsdale, MI | 78 | 114 | 63.8 | $549K | 0.0% | #35 of 538 |
| 3Coldwater, MI | 77 | 122 | 72.2 | $477K | +2.5% | #41 of 538 |
| 4Owosso, MI | 76 | 185 | 65.8 | $546K | −0.4% | #42 of 538 |
| 5Alma, MI | 71 | 99 | 67.0 | $517K | −1.1% | #72 of 538 |
| 6Sturgis, MI | 70 | 172 | 72.8 | $480K | +0.1% | #80 of 538 |
| 7Big Rapids, MI | 69 | 128 | 76.6 | $435K | +4.7% | #84 of 538 |
| 8Adrian, MI | 65 | 327 | 84.1 | $436K | −1.6% | #120 of 538 |
| 9Escanaba, MI | 54 | 145 | 90.8 | $372K | −0.8% | #223 of 538 |
| 10Marquette, MI | 54 | 276 | 97.7 | $359K | +2.3% | #225 of 538 |
Other business types in the Big Rapids area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes69
- Sit-down restaurants74
- Fast food and sandwich shops58
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes44
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Big Rapids, MI area?
The Big Rapids area has 128 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 51 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 8.5% from 2019. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Big Rapids, MI area spend on food away from home?
About $55.6M a year, or $3,329 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 128 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $435K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,708 households in the Big Rapids area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Big Rapids, MI area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Big Rapids area has 76.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $435K, 17% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Big Rapids area would have about 150, against 128 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 261 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Big Rapids, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Big Rapids area at 42,320 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,708 households. The median household income in the Big Rapids area is $60,951 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.4% 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. 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 Big Rapids area scores 69 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #84 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 Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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.