Market rankings · Mississippi

Restaurants and cafes in Mississippi

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Mississippi, ranked by the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 11,414; 4,453 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments: 4,982; +9.8% since 2019
Household spending a year: $3.8B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 99.6; 9% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $330K; 11% below the U.S.
Rank among states: #47 of 51; Market score 25 · Lower middle

A site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings around any address in Mississippi by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Mississippi has 11,414 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 4,453 are chain locations, or 39%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 99.6 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in Mississippi spend about $3.8B a year on food away from home, or $3,288 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. Spread across 11,414 restaurants and cafes, that is $330K per restaurant, 11% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Mississippi was 4,982 in 2023, up 9.8% from 2019. That is one for every 230 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.0% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 126 SBA-backed loans worth $61.8M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Mississippi.

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi ranks #47 for restaurants and cafes, with a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle). Of the 4 scored metro areas in or partly in Mississippi, the Memphis metro area scores highest (35). Of the 17 scored small-town markets in or partly in Mississippi, the Picayune area scores highest (63).

Every market in Mississippi for restaurants and cafes

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Mississippi, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Mississippi, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
Memphis, TN-MS-AR	35	5,489	105.0	$346K	−0.3%	#295 of 387
1Gulfport-Biloxi, MS	26	1,961	116.8	$295K	+3.5%	#351 of 387
2Jackson, MS	20	2,526	106.2	$325K	−1.4%	#370 of 387
3Hattiesburg, MS	19	721	119.9	$282K	+2.6%	#374 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Mississippi, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Picayune, MS	63	187	85.5	$383K	+5.6%	#145 of 538
2Laurel, MS	44	253	80.1	$392K	−1.5%	#329 of 538
3Brookhaven, MS	43	112	85.1	$374K	+0.5%	#340 of 538
4Starkville, MS	36	238	91.8	$344K	+0.8%	#406 of 538
5Greenwood, MS	34	128	88.5	$323K	−8.8%	#426 of 538
6Tupelo, MS	32	557	107.5	$316K	+0.8%	#442 of 538
7Natchez, MS-LA	32	210	101.3	$286K	−0.9%	#445 of 538
8Oxford, MS	32	376	156.4	$228K	+5.3%	#448 of 538
9Columbus, MS	27	257	95.4	$326K	−2.7%	#476 of 538
10Greenville, MS	25	186	108.7	$263K	−9.4%	#484 of 538
11Meridian, MS	24	332	95.8	$323K	−3.2%	#486 of 538
12McComb, MS	24	186	91.6	$313K	−2.6%	#487 of 538
13Corinth, MS	24	152	105.1	$289K	−0.5%	#491 of 538
14Clarksdale, MS	23	77	91.6	$288K	−6.5%	#497 of 538
15Grenada, MS	22	123	97.6	$312K	−3.6%	#502 of 538
16Vicksburg, MS	22	198	118.1	$294K	−6.3%	#504 of 538
17Cleveland, MS	13	122	102.4	$272K	−8.3%	#533 of 538

Counties

Counties in Mississippi, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Greene County, MS	73	16	38.9	$819K	+1.3%	#283 of 2,405
2Perry County, MS	67	22	47.3	$619K	+1.1%	#467 of 2,405
3Smith County, MS	65	24	42.9	$735K	−1.5%	#532 of 2,405
4Walthall County, MS	64	30	56.7	$548K	+0.4%	#587 of 2,405
5Amite County, MS	63	16	27.4	$975K	−1.7%	#623 of 2,405
6Marshall County, MS	63	95	72.0	$443K	+2.6%	#636 of 2,405
7Itawamba County, MS	62	62	64.5	$507K	+1.3%	#662 of 2,405
8George County, MS	61	70	75.3	$448K	+8.1%	#719 of 2,405
9Tate County, MS	60	72	65.3	$523K	+2.1%	#745 of 2,405
10Jasper County, MS	58	34	51.2	$566K	−3.5%	#818 of 2,405
11Jefferson Davis County, MS	57	24	53.9	$528K	−2.9%	#857 of 2,405
12Newton County, MS	57	47	60.9	$505K	−1.4%	#859 of 2,405
13Leake County, MS	57	47	63.4	$468K	+1.9%	#862 of 2,405
14Tallahatchie County, MS	56	21	48.8	$558K	−14.0%	#897 of 2,405
15DeSoto County, MS	55	712	100.3	$396K	+6.3%	#972 of 2,405
16Pearl River County, MS	52	187	85.5	$383K	+5.6%	#1,104 of 2,405
17Madison County, MS	50	487	110.9	$371K	+6.5%	#1,191 of 2,405
18Stone County, MS	49	53	79.0	$411K	+7.2%	#1,221 of 2,405
19Winston County, MS	48	48	67.2	$455K	−1.2%	#1,256 of 2,405
20Calhoun County, MS	48	37	65.9	$424K	−4.4%	#1,259 of 2,405
21Pontotoc County, MS	47	104	88.0	$360K	+2.9%	#1,320 of 2,405
22Lawrence County, MS	46	33	74.9	$387K	−1.4%	#1,347 of 2,405
23Jackson County, MS	46	611	106.0	$334K	+3.0%	#1,366 of 2,405
24Union County, MS	45	82	83.3	$388K	+2.3%	#1,389 of 2,405
25Rankin County, MS	45	640	106.4	$364K	+3.2%	#1,404 of 2,405

Show all 82 counties

Counties in Mississippi, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Tishomingo County, MS	44	69	78.1	$406K	−1.1%	#1,436 of 2,405
27Wayne County, MS	43	52	67.7	$415K	0.0%	#1,478 of 2,405
28Holmes County, MS	43	42	68.2	$396K	−8.4%	#1,484 of 2,405
29Chickasaw County, MS	43	48	71.9	$380K	−2.0%	#1,488 of 2,405
30Monroe County, MS	42	106	76.3	$409K	−2.4%	#1,518 of 2,405
31Panola County, MS	41	98	79.6	$381K	−1.4%	#1,564 of 2,405
32Covington County, MS	41	59	80.6	$377K	−2.2%	#1,566 of 2,405
33Clarke County, MS	40	38	63.9	$465K	−2.8%	#1,597 of 2,405
34Lamar County, MS	40	284	111.9	$329K	+4.7%	#1,626 of 2,405
35Prentiss County, MS	39	80	83.4	$375K	+1.3%	#1,639 of 2,405
36Attala County, MS	38	45	67.9	$462K	−4.0%	#1,679 of 2,405
37Yalobusha County, MS	38	43	86.1	$350K	−0.5%	#1,694 of 2,405
38Scott County, MS	36	78	80.5	$360K	+0.4%	#1,770 of 2,405
39Lincoln County, MS	34	112	85.1	$374K	+0.5%	#1,858 of 2,405
40Simpson County, MS	34	94	98.5	$327K	−1.5%	#1,872 of 2,405
41Tippah County, MS	33	64	79.8	$380K	−1.6%	#1,896 of 2,405
42Neshoba County, MS	33	90	87.5	$359K	−0.9%	#1,897 of 2,405
43Copiah County, MS	32	92	91.5	$338K	−2.7%	#1,942 of 2,405
44Noxubee County, MS	32	33	83.6	$326K	−4.2%	#1,947 of 2,405
45Hancock County, MS	32	226	111.7	$321K	+1.6%	#1,948 of 2,405
46Lafayette County, MS	31	333	174.9	$212K	+6.6%	#2,004 of 2,405
47Jones County, MS	29	219	87.8	$365K	−1.0%	#2,053 of 2,405
48Clay County, MS	27	77	98.7	$285K	−2.0%	#2,133 of 2,405
49Harrison County, MS	27	1,071	128.5	$261K	+4.0%	#2,139 of 2,405
50Yazoo County, MS	26	84	95.8	$297K	−14.0%	#2,157 of 2,405
51Sunflower County, MS	25	69	85.9	$318K	−10.9%	#2,181 of 2,405
52Oktibbeha County, MS	24	213	97.5	$323K	+0.4%	#2,207 of 2,405
53Lee County, MS	22	415	127.3	$276K	+0.5%	#2,252 of 2,405
54Adams County, MS	22	140	122.1	$238K	+2.2%	#2,257 of 2,405
55Marion County, MS	21	80	87.7	$333K	−1.5%	#2,262 of 2,405
56Lowndes County, MS	21	224	97.4	$326K	−2.4%	#2,263 of 2,405
57Alcorn County, MS	21	152	105.1	$289K	−0.5%	#2,271 of 2,405
58Washington County, MS	20	186	108.7	$263K	−9.4%	#2,290 of 2,405
59Warren County, MS	19	198	118.1	$294K	−6.3%	#2,301 of 2,405
60Coahoma County, MS	19	77	91.6	$288K	−6.5%	#2,304 of 2,405
61Hinds County, MS	18	1,009	112.6	$274K	−6.6%	#2,324 of 2,405
62Lauderdale County, MS	17	294	102.4	$305K	−3.2%	#2,338 of 2,405
63Grenada County, MS	17	86	101.6	$305K	−3.3%	#2,339 of 2,405
64Forrest County, MS	16	415	137.8	$232K	+1.1%	#2,361 of 2,405
65Bolivar County, MS	12	122	102.4	$272K	−8.3%	#2,381 of 2,405
66Leflore County, MS	12	111	108.8	$254K	−9.4%	#2,382 of 2,405
67Pike County, MS	10	156	104.0	$268K	−3.7%	#2,391 of 2,405
Webster County, MS	Not scored	25	61.4	$522K	+2.6%
Carroll County, MS	Not scored	17	39.9	$774K	−7.2%
Montgomery County, MS	Not scored	37	89.4	$328K	−4.5%
Tunica County, MS	Not scored	86	226.3	$125K	−9.4%
Kemper County, MS	Not scored	9	27.9	$1M	−4.1%
Claiborne County, MS	Not scored	30	99.7	$246K	−11.4%
Wilkinson County, MS	Not scored	38	119.3	$212K	−11.0%
Choctaw County, MS	Not scored	16	46.2	$642K	−1.9%
Franklin County, MS	Not scored	15	48.8	$636K	−2.2%
Benton County, MS	Not scored	11	35.8	$800K	−2.1%
Humphreys County, MS	Not scored	27	93.1	$284K	−9.5%
Jefferson County, MS	Not scored	16	64.2	$441K	−5.8%
Quitman County, MS	Not scored	18	68.1	$383K	−12.9%
Sharkey County, MS	Not scored	10	70.3	$387K	−17.9%
Issaquena County, MS	Not scored	1	28.6	$851K	−4.7%

Markets with fewer than 5 restaurants and cafes on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Mississippi?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 11,414 restaurants and cafes in Mississippi. 4,453 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 4,982 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 9.8% from 2019. Another 1,726 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Mississippi spend on food away from home?

About $3.8B a year, or $3,288 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11,414 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $330K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,145,431 households in Mississippi and national spending patterns by income.

How does Mississippi compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Mississippi has 99.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $330K, 11% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Mississippi would have about 10,157, against 11,414 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 230 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

Which market in Mississippi has the highest market score for restaurants and cafes?

Among 4 scored metro areas in or partly in Mississippi, the Memphis metro area scores highest, at 35 (lower middle). Among 17 scored small-town markets in or partly in Mississippi, the Picayune area scores highest, at 63 (upper middle). Among 67 scored counties in Mississippi, Greene County scores highest, at 73 (upper middle). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Mississippi scores 25 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #47 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mississippi. 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.

Sit-down restaurants6,346 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops1,923 listings
Pizza637 listings
Coffee shops and cafes1,056 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops966 listings

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mississippi?

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