Groundwork

Food and drink · County · New York

Restaurants and cafes in Hamilton County, NY

How Hamilton County, NY compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
60
5 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
27
−3.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$8.9M
On food away from home · $3,656 a household
Spending per listing
$148K
60% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
247.6
2.3 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,006
−1.3% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in Hamilton County spend about $8.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,656 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That is about $148K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 60% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Hamilton County has 60 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 8% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 247.6 per 10,000 households, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Hamilton County in 2023, down 3.6% from 2019. That is one for every 90 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $402K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Hamilton County.

Population estimates put the population change in Hamilton County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Hamilton County compares

The same measures for New York 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Hamilton County, NY compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureHamilton CountyNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households247.6127.6109.8
Spending per listing$148K$335K$371K
Households per official establishment90172209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−3.6%+0.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,656$4,270$4,070
Median household income$68,835$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored24

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
28 → 27−3.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
113
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
605 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$402K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,006−1.3% since 2020
Households
2,423
Median age
56.9
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,717 sq. mi.
People per square mile
3
Median household income
$68,835
Average household income
$89,855
Median home value
$260,200
Jobs located here
1,520
Daytime population
4,882Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Restaurants and cafes across New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in New York for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in New York, with Hamilton County marked.

Top counties in New York

Counties in New York ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wayne County, NY6727371.1$521K+0.1%#474 of 2,405
2Saratoga County, NY6793391.6$497K+2.3%#479 of 2,405
3Orleans County, NY6510665.4$531K−0.5%#545 of 2,405
4Tioga County, NY6515073.7$509K−1.9%#549 of 2,405
5Schenectady County, NY6559488.8$448K+3.0%#568 of 2,405
6Schoharie County, NY6411085.5$428K+1.4%#612 of 2,405
7Wyoming County, NY6211569.9$508K−1.3%#661 of 2,405
8Putnam County, NY60372104.7$487K+1.4%#748 of 2,405
9Rensselaer County, NY5959388.9$462K−0.2%#790 of 2,405
10Oswego County, NY5740084.7$428K+1.0%#872 of 2,405
Hamilton County, NYNot scored60247.6$148K−1.3%

Other business types in Hamilton County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Hamilton County, NY?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 60 restaurants and cafes in Hamilton County. 5 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 3.6% from 2019.

How much do households in Hamilton County, NY spend on food away from home?

About $8.9M a year, or $3,656 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 60 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $148K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,423 households in Hamilton County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Hamilton County, NY compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Hamilton County has 247.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $148K, 60% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Hamilton County would have about 24, against 60 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 90 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Hamilton County, NY growing?

Population estimates put Hamilton County at 5,006 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,423 households. Median household income in Hamilton County is $68,835, 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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.