Food and drink · County · Michigan
Restaurants and cafes in Ontonagon County, MI
How Ontonagon County, MI compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 37
- 6 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9.7M
- On food away from home · $3,083 a household
- Spending per listing
- $262K
- 29% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 117.5
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,823
- +0.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Ontonagon County
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 Ontonagon County. 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 37 restaurants and cafes in Ontonagon County. Chain locations make up 16% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 117.5, 7% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Ontonagon County comes to about $9.7M a year: $3,083 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. Spread across 37 restaurants and cafes, that is $262K per restaurant, 29% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Ontonagon County was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 262 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $25K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Ontonagon County.
Population estimates put the population change in Ontonagon County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Ontonagon County 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 | Ontonagon County | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 117.5 | 91.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $262K | $422K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 262 | 241 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,083 | $3,875 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $54,398 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 66 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11 → 12
- Employees, 2023
- 107
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 376 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 26The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $25K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Ontonagon County, 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 Ontonagon County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,823+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 3,149
- Median age
- 58.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 87%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,311 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $54,398
- Average household income
- $67,617
- Median home value
- $111,700
- Jobs located here
- 1,117
- Daytime population
- 5,087Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Ontonagon County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Ontonagon County. 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 counties in Michigan for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Michigan, with Ontonagon County marked.
Top counties in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Barry County, MI | 83 | 113 | 46.2 | $847K | +2.2% | #80 of 2,405 |
| 2Clinton County, MI | 83 | 169 | 53.4 | $797K | +1.6% | #81 of 2,405 |
| 3Ottawa County, MI | 82 | 832 | 74.7 | $575K | +3.9% | #107 of 2,405 |
| 4Cass County, MI | 79 | 98 | 46.2 | $822K | +0.2% | #144 of 2,405 |
| 5Kalkaska County, MI | 78 | 44 | 56.5 | $612K | +4.3% | #170 of 2,405 |
| 6Livingston County, MI | 77 | 575 | 75.2 | $625K | +1.7% | #190 of 2,405 |
| 7Lapeer County, MI | 76 | 216 | 62.0 | $627K | +1.0% | #217 of 2,405 |
| 8Newaygo County, MI | 75 | 113 | 57.5 | $602K | +3.1% | #235 of 2,405 |
| 9Monroe County, MI | 73 | 460 | 73.0 | $542K | +0.7% | #302 of 2,405 |
| 10Montcalm County, MI | 73 | 166 | 67.7 | $511K | +4.1% | #307 of 2,405 |
| Ontonagon County, MI | Not scored | 37 | 117.5 | $262K | +0.4% |
Other business types in Ontonagon County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Ontonagon County, MI?
Ontonagon County has 37 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Ontonagon County, MI spend on food away from home?
About $9.7M a year, or $3,083 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 37 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $262K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,149 households in Ontonagon County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Ontonagon County, MI compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Ontonagon County has 117.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $262K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Ontonagon County would have about 26, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 262 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Ontonagon County, MI growing?
Population estimates put Ontonagon County at 5,823 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,149 households. The median household income in Ontonagon County is $54,398 a year, 33% 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Ontonagon County. 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 Ontonagon County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Ontonagon County?
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 Ontonagon County. 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.