Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Restaurants and cafes in the Sanford, NC area
How the Sanford, 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 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #202 of 538 scored small-town markets
#5 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 230
- 93 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 121
- +21.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $85.9M
- On food away from home · $3,414 a household
- Spending per listing
- $373K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 91.5
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 70,258
- +10.8% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Sanford 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 Sanford 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
At $3,414 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in the Sanford area spend about $85.9M a year on food away from home. That works out to $373K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Sanford area has 230 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 91.5 for every 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 121 businesses with payroll in the Sanford area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 21.0% from 2019. That is one for every 208 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 28 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Sanford area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Sanford area grew 10.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Sanford area is 56 (upper middle), #202 of 538 scored small-town markets and #5 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Sanford 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 | Sanford area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 91.5 | 97.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $373K | $387K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 208 | 221 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +21.0% | +8.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.8% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,414 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,387 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 121+21.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,465
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $44.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 28Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23093 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 232The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Sanford 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 Sanford area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 70,258+10.8% since 2020
- Households
- 25,145
- Median age
- 39.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 255 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 258
- Median household income
- $65,387+30.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,746
- Median home value
- $240,200
- Jobs located here
- 27,081
- Daytime population
- 64,849Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sanford 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 Sanford 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 Sanford 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 Sanford area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants53
- Fast food and sandwich shops44
- Pizza62
- Coffee shops and cafes70
- Bakeries and dessert shops62
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 Sanford, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 230 restaurants and cafes in the Sanford area. 93 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 121 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 21.0% from 2019. Official counts list 28 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Sanford, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $85.9M a year, or $3,414 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 230 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $373K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 25,145 households in the Sanford area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sanford, NC area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Sanford area has 91.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $373K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Sanford area would have about 232, against 230 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 208 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Sanford, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Sanford area at 70,258 people in 2025, up 10.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 25,145 households. Median household income in the Sanford area is $65,387, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.8%, 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 Sanford area scores 56 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #202 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 Sanford 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 Sanford area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sanford 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 Sanford 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.