Food and drink · Small-town market · New Mexico
Restaurants and cafes in the Ruidoso, NM area
How the Ruidoso, 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 10 out of 100: Low
Ranked #536 of 538 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico
- Listings
- 182
- 42 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 58
- −1.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $32.1M
- On food away from home · $3,209 a household
- Spending per listing
- $176K
- 52% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 182.0
- 66% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 19,844
- −2.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso area is 10 (low), #536 of 538 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $3,209 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in the Ruidoso area spend about $32.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 182 restaurants and cafes, that is $176K per restaurant, 52% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Ruidoso area has 182 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 42 are chain locations, or 23%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 182.0, 66% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ruidoso area was 58 in 2023, down 1.7% from 2019. That is one for every 172 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $670K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ruidoso area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ruidoso area declined 2.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Ruidoso 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 | Ruidoso area | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 182.0 | 96.8 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $176K | $366K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 172 | 239 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.7% | +5.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.3% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,209 | $3,547 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $53,303 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 10 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 58−1.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 950
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $24.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 14Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 18242 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 87The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $670K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 19,844−2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 10,000
- Median age
- 50.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,831 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $53,303+15.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,624
- Median home value
- $233,200
- Jobs located here
- 6,275
- Daytime population
- 19,834Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso 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 |
| 13Ruidoso, NM | 10 | 182 | 182.0 | $176K | −2.3% | #536 of 538 |
Other business types in the Ruidoso area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes10
- Sit-down restaurants10
- Fast food and sandwich shops36
- Pizza33
- Coffee shops and cafes17
- Bakeries and dessert shops17
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 Ruidoso, NM area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 182 restaurants and cafes in the Ruidoso area. 42 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 58 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 1.7% from 2019. Official counts list 14 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ruidoso, NM area spend on food away from home?
About $32.1M a year, or $3,209 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 182 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $176K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,000 households in the Ruidoso area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ruidoso, NM area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Ruidoso area has 182.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 66% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $176K, 52% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Ruidoso area would have about 87, against 182 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 172 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ruidoso, NM area growing?
Population estimates put the Ruidoso area at 19,844 people in 2025, down 2.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,000 households. Median household income in the Ruidoso area is $53,303, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.3%, 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 Ruidoso area scores 10 for restaurants and cafes (low), #536 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 Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso 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.