Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · New York

Restaurants and cafes in the Syracuse, NY metro area

How the Syracuse, NY metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #196 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
2,694
758 chain locations (28%)
Official establishments
1,152
−0.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1B
On food away from home · $3,854 a household
Spending per listing
$388K
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
99.3
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
652,273
−1.3% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Syracuse metro 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 Syracuse metro area. 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

Households in the Syracuse metro area spend about $1B a year on food away from home, or $3,854 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $388K per restaurant, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The Syracuse metro area has 2,694 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 758 of them (28%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 99.3 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Official counts show 1,152 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Syracuse metro area in 2023, down 0.8% from 2019. That is one for every 235 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 150 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 48 SBA-backed loans worth $10.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Syracuse metro area.

Population estimates show the Syracuse metro area declined 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Syracuse metro area is 49 (lower middle), #196 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.

How the Syracuse metro area 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 Syracuse, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureSyracuse metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households99.3127.6109.8
Spending per listing$388K$335K$371K
Households per official establishment235172209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−0.8%+0.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,854$4,270$4,070
Median household income$75,492$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score4924

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,152−0.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
18,690
Annual payroll, 2023
$424.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
150Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,694758 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,819The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
48
Amount
$10.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Syracuse metro 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 Syracuse metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
652,273−1.3% since 2020
Households
271,251
Median age
41.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
2,385 sq. mi.
People per square mile
275
Median household income
$75,492+25.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$99,360
Median home value
$187,700
Jobs located here
309,260
Daytime population
669,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Syracuse metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Syracuse metro area. 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 metro areas in New York for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in New York, with the Syracuse metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY593,829100.0$420K+1.9%#133 of 387
2Rochester, NY534,28796.2$403K−0.7%#168 of 387
3Syracuse, NY492,69499.3$388K−1.3%#196 of 387
4Binghamton, NY4790188.0$405K−1.3%#205 of 387
5Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY464,96999.1$382K−0.8%#215 of 387
6Elmira, NY4331489.0$391K−3.9%#236 of 387
7Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY433,205125.7$357K+3.0%#241 of 387
8Ithaca, NY35496114.6$342K−1.4%#297 of 387
9Utica-Rome, NY341,19098.4$368K−2.0%#302 of 387
10New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ34101,299137.0$336K+0.6%#305 of 387

Other business types in the Syracuse metro area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Syracuse, NY metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,694 restaurants and cafes in the Syracuse metro area. 758 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,152 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 0.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 150 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Syracuse, NY metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1B a year, or $3,854 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,694 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $388K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 271,251 households in the Syracuse metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Syracuse, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Syracuse metro area has 99.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $388K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Syracuse metro area would have about 2,819, against 2,694 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 235 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Syracuse, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Syracuse metro area at 652,273 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 271,251 households. Median household income in the Syracuse metro area is $75,492, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.1%, 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. The Syracuse metro area scores 49 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #196 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Syracuse metro 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 Syracuse metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Syracuse metro area?

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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.