Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina

Restaurants and cafes in the Brevard, NC area

How the Brevard, NC 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 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #357 of 538 scored small-town markets
#18 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
159
38 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
79
+25.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$51.5M
On food away from home · $3,534 a household
Spending per listing
$324K
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
109.0
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
34,211
+2.9% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Brevard 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 Brevard 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

Household spending on food away from home in the Brevard area comes to about $51.5M a year: $3,534 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. That works out to $324K per restaurant, 13% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 159 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Brevard area as of September 2026. Of those, 38 are chain locations, or 24%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 109.0 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 79 businesses with payroll in the Brevard area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 25.4% from 2019. That is one for every 185 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $5.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Brevard area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Brevard area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Brevard area has a Groundwork market score of 42 (lower middle): #357 of 538 scored small-town markets and #18 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.

How the Brevard area compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Brevard, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureBrevard areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households109.097.5109.8
Spending per listing$324K$387K$371K
Households per official establishment185221209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+25.4%+8.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.9%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,534$3,776$4,070
Median household income$66,184$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4258

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
79+25.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,041
Annual payroll, 2023
$26M
One-person businesses, 2023
6Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
15938 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
139The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$5.4M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
34,211+2.9% since 2020
Households
14,584
Median age
50.3
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
378 sq. mi.
People per square mile
89
Median household income
$66,184+31.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,954
Median home value
$373,600
Jobs located here
9,403
Daytime population
30,592Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Brevard area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Anderson Creek, NC9031362.8$572K+12.3%#4 of 538
2Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC6330979.5$412K+3.4%#140 of 538
3New Bern, NC6346087.7$388K+3.6%#142 of 538
4North Wilkesboro, NC6219170.5$427K+0.6%#147 of 538
5Sanford, NC5623091.5$373K+10.8%#202 of 538
6Laurinburg, NC558366.0$448K−0.3%#208 of 538
7Marion, NC5515382.1$390K+1.5%#211 of 538
8Albemarle, NC5523693.5$361K+9.8%#216 of 538
9Forest City, NC5523287.1$355K+2.1%#217 of 538
10Wilson, NC5427783.8$385K+1.7%#220 of 538
18Brevard, NC42159109.0$324K+2.9%#357 of 538

Other business types in the Brevard area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Brevard, NC area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 159 restaurants and cafes in the Brevard area. 38 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 79 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 25.4% from 2019. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Brevard, NC area spend on food away from home?

About $51.5M a year, or $3,534 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 159 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $324K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,584 households in the Brevard area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Brevard, NC area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Brevard area has 109.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $324K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Brevard area would have about 139, against 159 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 185 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 25.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Brevard, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the Brevard area at 34,211 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,584 households. Median household income in the Brevard area is $66,184, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.8%, 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 Brevard area scores 42 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #357 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 Brevard 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 Brevard area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brevard 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 Brevard 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.