Groundwork

Food and drink · County · New York

Restaurants and cafes in Oswego County, NY

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #872 of 2,405 scored counties
#10 of 61 scored counties in New York

Listings
400
86 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
180
−2.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$171.1M
On food away from home · $3,623 a household
Spending per listing
$428K
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
84.7
23% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
118,569
+1.0% since 2020

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

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

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 400 restaurants and cafes in Oswego County. Chain locations make up 22% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 84.7 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Oswego County comes to about $171.1M a year: $3,623 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 400 restaurants and cafes, that is $428K per restaurant, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Oswego County was 180 in 2023, down 2.2% from 2019. That is one for every 262 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 23 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $961K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Oswego County.

Population estimates put the population change in Oswego County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, Oswego County has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #872 of 2,405 scored counties and #10 of 61 scored counties in New York.

How Oswego 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 Oswego County, NY compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureOswego CountyNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households84.7127.6109.8
Spending per listing$428K$335K$371K
Households per official establishment262172209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.2%+0.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,623$4,270$4,070
Median household income$69,183$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score5724

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
184 → 180−2.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,202
Annual payroll, 2023
$47.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
23Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
40086 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
462The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$961K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
118,569+1.0% since 2020
Households
47,239
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
952 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$69,183+23.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,184
Median home value
$151,700
Jobs located here
32,047
Daytime population
98,594Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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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 Oswego 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

Other business types in Oswego County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

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

Oswego County has 400 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 86 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 180 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 2.2% from 2019. Official counts list 23 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $171.1M a year, or $3,623 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 400 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $428K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 47,239 households in Oswego County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Oswego County has 84.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $428K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Oswego County would have about 462, against 400 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 262 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Oswego County, NY growing?

Population estimates put Oswego County at 118,569 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 47,239 households. The median household income in Oswego County is $69,183 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.6% 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. 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. Oswego County scores 57 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #872 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Oswego 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 Oswego County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Oswego 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 Oswego 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.