Food and drink · Small-town market · Nebraska
Restaurants and cafes in the Hastings, NE area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Hastings, NE area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #221 of 538 scored small-town markets
#3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska
- Listings
- 165
- 63 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 76
- +2.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $62.9M
- On food away from home · $3,690 a household
- Spending per listing
- $381K
- 3% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 96.7
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 40,577
- −0.2% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Hastings 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 Hastings 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 165 restaurants and cafes in the Hastings area. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 96.7 per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Hastings area comes to about $62.9M a year: $3,690 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 165 restaurants and cafes, that is $381K per restaurant, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hastings area was 76 in 2023, up 2.7% from 2019. That is one for every 224 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $17K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hastings area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Hastings area declined 0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For restaurants and cafes, the Hastings area has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #221 of 538 scored small-town markets and #3 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.
How the Hastings area 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.
| Measure | Hastings area | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 96.7 | 105.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $381K | $374K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 224 | 229 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.7% | +6.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,690 | $3,946 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $69,510 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 76+2.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,229
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $21M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16563 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 170The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $17K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hastings 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 Hastings area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 40,577−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 17,059
- Median age
- 40.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 1,711 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 24
- Median household income
- $69,510
- Average household income
- $91,112
- Median home value
- $175,200
- Jobs located here
- 18,629
- Daytime population
- 39,802Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hastings 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 Hastings 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 Nebraska
Every Nebraska market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Nebraska for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with the Hastings area marked.
Top small-town markets in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Beatrice, NE | 67 | 90 | 96.5 | $372K | +0.2% | #105 of 538 |
| 2Columbus, NE | 67 | 181 | 104.2 | $361K | +3.8% | #106 of 538 |
| 3Hastings, NE | 54 | 165 | 96.7 | $381K | −0.2% | #221 of 538 |
| 4Fremont, NE | 54 | 159 | 104.8 | $355K | +2.6% | #226 of 538 |
| 5Norfolk, NE | 53 | 205 | 104.5 | $347K | +1.1% | #237 of 538 |
| 6Lexington, NE | 45 | 115 | 115.2 | $322K | +1.1% | #324 of 538 |
| 7Kearney, NE | 43 | 281 | 123.3 | $312K | +1.9% | #351 of 538 |
| 8North Platte, NE | 37 | 160 | 105.3 | $335K | −3.6% | #398 of 538 |
| 9Scottsbluff, NE | 29 | 170 | 110.5 | $314K | −1.2% | #465 of 538 |
Other business types in the Hastings area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops53
- Pizza46
- Coffee shops and cafes42
- Bakeries and dessert shops50
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 Hastings, NE area?
The Hastings area has 165 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 63 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 76 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 2.7% from 2019.
How much do households in the Hastings, NE area spend on food away from home?
About $62.9M a year, or $3,690 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 165 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $381K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,059 households in the Hastings area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hastings, NE area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Hastings area has 96.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $381K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Hastings area would have about 170, against 165 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 224 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Hastings, NE area growing?
Population estimates put the Hastings area at 40,577 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,059 households. The median household income in the Hastings area is $69,510 a year, 14% 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. 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 Hastings area scores 54 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #221 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 Hastings 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 Hastings area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hastings 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 Hastings 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.