Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Restaurants and cafes in the Marion, NC area
How the Marion, 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 55 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #211 of 538 scored small-town markets
#7 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 153
- 56 chain locations (37%)
- Official establishments
- 73
- +10.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $59.6M
- On food away from home · $3,199 a household
- Spending per listing
- $390K
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 82.1
- 25% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 45,198
- +1.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Marion 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 Marion 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
Households in the Marion area spend about $59.6M a year on food away from home, or $3,199 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. Spread across 153 restaurants and cafes, that is $390K per restaurant, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Marion area has 153 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 56 of them (37%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 82.1, 25% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 73 businesses with payroll in the Marion area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 10.6% from 2019. That is one for every 255 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 22 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $15K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Marion area.
Population estimates show the Marion area grew 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Marion area is 55 (upper middle), #211 of 538 scored small-town markets and #7 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Marion 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.
| Measure | Marion area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 82.1 | 97.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $390K | $387K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 255 | 221 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +10.6% | +8.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,199 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $57,168 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 55 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 73+10.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,144
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $21.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 22Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15356 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 161The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $15K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Marion 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 Marion area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 45,198+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 18,638
- Median age
- 44.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 440 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 102
- Median household income
- $57,168+31.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,753
- Median home value
- $171,100
- Jobs located here
- 15,917
- Daytime population
- 39,859Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Marion 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 Marion 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 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 Marion area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 90 | 313 | 62.8 | $572K | +12.3% | #4 of 538 |
| 2Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 63 | 309 | 79.5 | $412K | +3.4% | #140 of 538 |
| 3New Bern, NC | 63 | 460 | 87.7 | $388K | +3.6% | #142 of 538 |
| 4North Wilkesboro, NC | 62 | 191 | 70.5 | $427K | +0.6% | #147 of 538 |
| 5Sanford, NC | 56 | 230 | 91.5 | $373K | +10.8% | #202 of 538 |
| 6Laurinburg, NC | 55 | 83 | 66.0 | $448K | −0.3% | #208 of 538 |
| 7Marion, NC | 55 | 153 | 82.1 | $390K | +1.5% | #211 of 538 |
| 8Albemarle, NC | 55 | 236 | 93.5 | $361K | +9.8% | #216 of 538 |
| 9Forest City, NC | 55 | 232 | 87.1 | $355K | +2.1% | #217 of 538 |
| 10Wilson, NC | 54 | 277 | 83.8 | $385K | +1.7% | #220 of 538 |
Other business types in the Marion area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes55
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops42
- Pizza51
- Coffee shops and cafes65
- Bakeries and dessert shops50
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 Marion, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 153 restaurants and cafes in the Marion area. 56 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 73 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 10.6% from 2019. Another 22 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Marion, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $59.6M a year, or $3,199 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 153 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $390K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,638 households in the Marion area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Marion, NC area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Marion area has 82.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $390K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Marion area would have about 161, against 153 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 255 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Marion, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Marion area at 45,198 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,638 households. Median household income in the Marion area is $57,168, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.0%, 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 Marion area scores 55 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #211 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 Marion 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 Marion area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Marion 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 Marion 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.