Food and drink · Small-town market · New Mexico
Restaurants and cafes in the Hobbs, NM area
How the Hobbs, 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #413 of 538 scored small-town markets
#6 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico
- Listings
- 291
- 104 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 128
- +6.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $89.9M
- On food away from home · $3,645 a household
- Spending per listing
- $309K
- 17% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 118.0
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 74,749
- +0.2% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Hobbs 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 Hobbs 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
The Hobbs area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #413 of 538 scored small-town markets and #6 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 291 restaurants and cafes in the Hobbs area. 104 of them (36%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 118.0, 7% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Hobbs area comes to about $89.9M a year: $3,645 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That is about $309K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 17% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 128 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hobbs area in 2023, up 6.7% from 2019. That is one for every 193 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $2.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hobbs area. Population estimates show the Hobbs area grew 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Hobbs 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 | Hobbs area | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 118.0 | 96.8 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $309K | $366K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 193 | 239 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.7% | +5.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.2% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,645 | $3,547 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,015 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 128+6.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,205
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $47.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 41Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 291104 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 243The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $2.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hobbs 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 Hobbs area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 74,749+0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 24,670
- Median age
- 32.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,392 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 17
- Median household income
- $68,015+12.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,389
- Median home value
- $184,000
- Jobs located here
- 33,256
- Daytime population
- 77,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hobbs 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 Hobbs 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 Hobbs 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 Hobbs area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants37
- Fast food and sandwich shops43
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes35
- Bakeries and dessert shops39
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 Hobbs, NM area?
There are 291 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Hobbs area as of September 2026. 104 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 128 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 6.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 41 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Hobbs, NM area spend on food away from home?
About $89.9M a year, or $3,645 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 291 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $309K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,670 households in the Hobbs area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hobbs, NM area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Hobbs area has 118.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $309K, 17% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Hobbs area would have about 243, against 291 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 193 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Hobbs, NM area growing?
Population estimates put the Hobbs area at 74,749 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,670 households. The median household income in the Hobbs area is $68,015 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 12.3% 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 Hobbs area scores 35 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #413 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 Hobbs 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 Hobbs area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hobbs 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 Hobbs 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.