Food and drink · County · Nebraska
Restaurants and cafes in Merrick County, NE
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Merrick County, NE, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 27
- 12 chain locations (44%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $11.3M
- On food away from home · $3,527 a household
- Spending per listing
- $419K
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 84.2
- 23% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 7,905
- +3.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Merrick 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 Merrick 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
Households in Merrick County spend about $11.3M a year on food away from home, or $3,527 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Spread across 27 restaurants and cafes, that is $419K per restaurant, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 27 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Merrick County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 44% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 84.2 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in Merrick County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 356 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $720K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Merrick County.
Population estimates show Merrick County grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, in step with 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 Merrick 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.
| Measure | Merrick County | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 84.2 | 105.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $419K | $374K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 356 | 229 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.9% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,527 | $3,946 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,354 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8 → 9
- Employees, 2023
- 116
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2712 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 31The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $720K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Merrick 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 Merrick County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,905+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 3,205
- Median age
- 43.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.5
- Land area
- 488 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 16
- Median household income
- $68,354
- Average household income
- $88,303
- Median home value
- $175,900
- Jobs located here
- 2,446
- Daytime population
- 6,386Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Merrick 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 Merrick 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 Nebraska
Every Nebraska market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Nebraska for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with Merrick County marked.
Top counties in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cass County, NE | 85 | 83 | 76.6 | $568K | +3.9% | #65 of 2,405 |
| 2Sarpy County, NE | 83 | 595 | 80.3 | $575K | +9.0% | #93 of 2,405 |
| 3Washington County, NE | 82 | 55 | 65.3 | $673K | +1.8% | #103 of 2,405 |
| 4Saunders County, NE | 76 | 84 | 94.4 | $455K | +6.0% | #228 of 2,405 |
| 5Colfax County, NE | 65 | 33 | 89.0 | $441K | +3.6% | #572 of 2,405 |
| 6Seward County, NE | 64 | 59 | 86.9 | $461K | +2.3% | #605 of 2,405 |
| 7Lancaster County, NE | 55 | 1,307 | 97.4 | $398K | +3.4% | #971 of 2,405 |
| 8Gage County, NE | 55 | 90 | 96.5 | $372K | +0.2% | #986 of 2,405 |
| 9Otoe County, NE | 55 | 77 | 120.6 | $328K | +3.9% | #992 of 2,405 |
| 10Saline County, NE | 52 | 58 | 112.8 | $341K | +1.9% | #1,111 of 2,405 |
| Merrick County, NE | Not scored | 27 | 84.2 | $419K | +3.3% |
Other business types in Merrick 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 Merrick County, NE?
As of September 2026, map listings count 27 restaurants and cafes in Merrick County. 12 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.
How much do households in Merrick County, NE spend on food away from home?
About $11.3M a year, or $3,527 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $419K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,205 households in Merrick County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Merrick County, NE compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Merrick County has 84.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $419K, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Merrick County would have about 31, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 356 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Merrick County, NE growing?
Population estimates put Merrick County at 7,905 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,205 households. Median household income in Merrick County is $68,354, 15% 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 Merrick 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 Merrick County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Merrick 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 Merrick 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.