Food and drink · Small-town market · New Mexico
Restaurants and cafes in the Carlsbad-Artesia, NM area
How the Carlsbad-Artesia, NM area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #204 of 538 scored small-town markets
#5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico
- Listings
- 254
- 81 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- 101
- +23.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $90.9M
- On food away from home · $3,850 a household
- Spending per listing
- $358K
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 107.5
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 62,509
- +0.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Carlsbad-Artesia 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 Carlsbad-Artesia 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 254 restaurants and cafes in the Carlsbad-Artesia area. 81 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 107.5, 2% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Carlsbad-Artesia area comes to about $90.9M a year: $3,850 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $358K per restaurant, 3% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 101 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Carlsbad-Artesia area in 2023, up 23.2% from 2019. That is one for every 234 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 26 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $2.3M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Carlsbad-Artesia area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Carlsbad-Artesia area grew 0.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Carlsbad-Artesia area has a Groundwork market score of 56 (upper middle): #204 of 538 scored small-town markets and #5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico.
How the Carlsbad-Artesia area compares
The same measures for New Mexico 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 | Carlsbad-Artesia area | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 107.5 | 96.8 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $358K | $366K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 234 | 239 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +23.2% | +5.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.3% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,850 | $3,547 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $78,426 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 101+23.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,874
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $42.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 26Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 25481 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 245The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 10
- Amount
- $2.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Carlsbad-Artesia 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 Carlsbad-Artesia area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 62,509+0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 23,620
- Median age
- 36.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,176 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 15
- Median household income
- $78,426+20.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,979
- Median home value
- $212,600
- Jobs located here
- 30,860
- Daytime population
- 65,233Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Carlsbad-Artesia 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 Carlsbad-Artesia 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 New Mexico
Every New Mexico market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in New Mexico for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in New Mexico, with the Carlsbad-Artesia area marked.
Top small-town markets in New Mexico
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Los Alamos, NM | 84 | 61 | 74.0 | $747K | 0.0% | #15 of 538 |
| 2Alamogordo, NM | 74 | 188 | 76.8 | $427K | +3.7% | #56 of 538 |
| 3Española, NM | 71 | 96 | 61.4 | $542K | −1.0% | #71 of 538 |
| 4Las Vegas, NM | 58 | 92 | 66.2 | $461K | −3.2% | #182 of 538 |
| 5Carlsbad-Artesia, NM | 56 | 254 | 107.5 | $358K | +0.3% | #204 of 538 |
| 6Hobbs, NM | 35 | 291 | 118.0 | $309K | +0.2% | #413 of 538 |
| 7Deming, NM | 31 | 87 | 94.3 | $285K | −0.2% | #454 of 538 |
| 8Clovis, NM | 30 | 253 | 97.2 | $327K | −3.3% | #455 of 538 |
| 9Roswell, NM | 29 | 231 | 97.4 | $325K | −2.7% | #464 of 538 |
| 10Silver City, NM | 23 | 113 | 100.0 | $306K | −3.4% | #496 of 538 |
Other business types in the Carlsbad-Artesia area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants58
- Fast food and sandwich shops54
- Pizza70
- Coffee shops and cafes38
- Bakeries and dessert shops56
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 Carlsbad-Artesia, NM area?
There are 254 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Carlsbad-Artesia area as of September 2026. 81 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 101 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 23.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 26 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Carlsbad-Artesia, NM area spend on food away from home?
About $90.9M a year, or $3,850 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 254 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $358K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,620 households in the Carlsbad-Artesia area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Carlsbad-Artesia, NM area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Carlsbad-Artesia area has 107.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $358K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Carlsbad-Artesia area would have about 245, against 254 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 234 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Carlsbad-Artesia, NM area growing?
Population estimates put the Carlsbad-Artesia area at 62,509 people in 2025, up 0.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,620 households. The median household income in the Carlsbad-Artesia area is $78,426 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Carlsbad-Artesia area scores 56 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #204 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 Carlsbad-Artesia 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 Carlsbad-Artesia area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carlsbad-Artesia 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 Carlsbad-Artesia 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.