Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Missouri

Restaurants and cafes in the Warrensburg, MO area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Warrensburg, MO area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 80 out of 100: High

Ranked #30 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Missouri

Listings
180
82 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
69
−1.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$75.2M
On food away from home · $3,566 a household
Spending per listing
$418K
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
85.4
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
56,670
+4.9% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Warrensburg 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 Warrensburg area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

The Warrensburg area scores 80 (high) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #30 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Missouri. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for restaurants and cafes.

Household spending on food away from home in the Warrensburg area comes to about $75.2M a year: $3,566 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That is about $418K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The Warrensburg area has 180 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 82 of them (46%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 85.4, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 69 businesses with payroll in the Warrensburg area classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 1.4% from 2019. That is one for every 306 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Warrensburg area. Population estimates put the population change in the Warrensburg area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Warrensburg area compares

The same measures for Missouri 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Warrensburg, MO area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureWarrensburg areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households85.498.6109.8
Spending per listing$418K$385K$371K
Households per official establishment306235209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−1.4%+6.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.9%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,566$3,799$4,070
Median household income$67,272$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score8054

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
69−1.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,409
Annual payroll, 2023
$26.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
18082 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
203The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Warrensburg 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 Warrensburg area

Population, 2025 estimate
56,670+4.9% since 2020
Households
21,087
Median age
34.4
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
829 sq. mi.
People per square mile
66
Median household income
$67,272+21.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,022
Median home value
$235,700
Jobs located here
15,260
Daytime population
47,747Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Warrensburg 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 Warrensburg area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Missouri for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Missouri (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Warrensburg area marked.

Top small-town markets in Missouri

Small-town markets in Missouri ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warrensburg, MO8018085.4$418K+4.9%#30 of 538
2Mexico, MO696368.3$485K−1.0%#82 of 538
3Sedalia, MO6614585.3$395K+2.9%#113 of 538
4Kirksville, MO539793.0$364K+1.9%#233 of 538
5Farmington, MO5221887.8$378K+2.1%#241 of 538
Quincy, IL-MO5230497.7$363K−2.0%#246 of 538
6Lebanon, MO5013894.8$333K+2.5%#263 of 538
7Hannibal, MO4813789.6$382K+0.4%#274 of 538
8Sikeston, MO4717688.8$376K−0.3%#288 of 538
9Moberly, MO448591.9$351K+0.2%#334 of 538

Other business types in the Warrensburg area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Warrensburg, MO area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 180 restaurants and cafes in the Warrensburg area. 82 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 69 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 1.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Warrensburg, MO area spend on food away from home?

About $75.2M a year, or $3,566 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 180 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $418K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 21,087 households in the Warrensburg area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Warrensburg, MO area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Warrensburg area has 85.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $418K, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Warrensburg area would have about 203, against 180 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 306 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Warrensburg, MO area growing?

Population estimates put the Warrensburg area at 56,670 people in 2025, up 4.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 21,087 households. Median household income in the Warrensburg area is $67,272, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.7%, 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 Warrensburg area scores 80 for restaurants and cafes (high), #30 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 Warrensburg 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 Warrensburg area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Warrensburg 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 Warrensburg 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.