Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Nebraska

Restaurants and cafes in Brown County, NE

The restaurants and cafes in Brown County, NE, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
13
3 chain locations (23%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$4.2M
On food away from home · $3,292 a household
Spending per listing
$323K
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
102.0
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,826
−2.6% since 2020

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

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

Households in Brown County spend about $4.2M a year on food away from home, or $3,292 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. Spread across 13 restaurants and cafes, that is $323K per restaurant, 13% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Brown County has 13 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 23%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 102.0 for every 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Brown County in 2023. That is one for every 425 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Brown County from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Brown County compares

The same measures for Nebraska 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 Brown County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureBrown CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households102.0105.5109.8
Spending per listing$323K$374K$371K
Households per official establishment425229209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.9%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,292$3,946$4,070
Median household income$54,676$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored55

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 3
Employees, 2023
25
Annual payroll, 2023
$938K
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
133 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Brown 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 Brown County

Population, 2025 estimate
2,826−2.6% since 2020
Households
1,275
Median age
45.3
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,221 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2
Median household income
$54,676
Average household income
$79,390
Median home value
$113,900
Jobs located here
1,266
Daytime population
2,779Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Nebraska for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with Brown County marked.

Top counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Cass County, NE858376.6$568K+3.9%#65 of 2,405
2Sarpy County, NE8359580.3$575K+9.0%#93 of 2,405
3Washington County, NE825565.3$673K+1.8%#103 of 2,405
4Saunders County, NE768494.4$455K+6.0%#228 of 2,405
5Colfax County, NE653389.0$441K+3.6%#572 of 2,405
6Seward County, NE645986.9$461K+2.3%#605 of 2,405
7Lancaster County, NE551,30797.4$398K+3.4%#971 of 2,405
8Gage County, NE559096.5$372K+0.2%#986 of 2,405
9Otoe County, NE5577120.6$328K+3.9%#992 of 2,405
10Saline County, NE5258112.8$341K+1.9%#1,111 of 2,405
Brown County, NENot scored13102.0$323K−2.6%

Other business types in Brown County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Brown County, NE?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 restaurants and cafes in Brown County. 3 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Brown County, NE spend on food away from home?

About $4.2M a year, or $3,292 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $323K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,275 households in Brown County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Brown County, NE compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Brown County has 102.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $323K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Brown County would have about 11, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 425 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Brown County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Brown County at 2,826 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,275 households. Median household income in Brown County is $54,676, 32% 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 Brown 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 Brown County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Brown 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 Brown 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.