Food and drink · Small-town market · New Mexico
Restaurants and cafes in the Los Alamos, NM area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Los Alamos, NM area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 84 out of 100: High
Ranked #15 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico
- Listings
- 61
- 13 chain locations (21%)
- Official establishments
- 28
- +3.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $45.6M
- On food away from home · $5,525 a household
- Spending per listing
- $747K
- Twice the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 74.0
- 33% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 19,407
- 0.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos 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 Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Los Alamos area is 84 (high), #15 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for restaurants and cafes.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 61 restaurants and cafes in the Los Alamos area. 13 of them (21%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 74.0, 33% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Los Alamos area comes to about $45.6M a year: $5,525 per household, 36% above the U.S. average. That is about $747K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, twice the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Los Alamos area was 28 in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 295 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $200K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Los Alamos area. Population estimates show the Los Alamos area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Los Alamos 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 | Los Alamos area | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 74.0 | 96.8 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $747K | $366K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 295 | 239 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.7% | +5.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $5,525 | $3,547 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $147,139 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 84 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 28+3.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 374
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6113 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 123The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $200K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 19,4070.0% since 2020
- Households
- 8,247
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 109 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 178
- Median household income
- $147,139+21.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $170,885
- Median home value
- $495,800
- Jobs located here
- 20,699
- Daytime population
- 29,150Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes84
- Sit-down restaurants86
- Fast food and sandwich shops70
- Pizza
- Coffee shops and cafes63
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Los Alamos, NM area?
There are 61 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Los Alamos area as of September 2026. 13 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Los Alamos, NM area spend on food away from home?
About $45.6M a year, or $5,525 per household. That is 36% above the U.S. average (an index of 136, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 61 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $747K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,247 households in the Los Alamos area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Los Alamos, NM area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Los Alamos area has 74.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $747K, twice the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Los Alamos area would have about 123, against 61 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 295 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Los Alamos, NM area growing?
Population estimates put the Los Alamos area at 19,407 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,247 households. The median household income in the Los Alamos area is $147,139 a year, 82% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.3% 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 Los Alamos area scores 84 for restaurants and cafes (high), #15 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos 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.