Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Restaurants and cafes in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area
The restaurants and cafes in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #140 of 538 scored small-town markets
#2 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 309
- 128 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 152
- +6.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $127.3M
- On food away from home · $3,278 a household
- Spending per listing
- $412K
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 79.5
- 28% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 103,325
- +3.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 309 restaurants and cafes in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area. Of those, 128 are chain locations, or 41%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 79.5, 28% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area comes to about $127.3M a year: $3,278 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That works out to $412K per restaurant, 11% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 152 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area in 2023, up 6.3% from 2019. That is one for every 256 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 33 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.8M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Shelby-Kings Mountain area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Shelby-Kings Mountain area has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #140 of 538 scored small-town markets and #2 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 | Shelby-Kings Mountain area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 79.5 | 97.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $412K | $387K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 256 | 221 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.3% | +8.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,278 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $58,534 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 152+6.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,770
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $49.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 33Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 309128 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 343The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 103,325+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 38,850
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 464 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 218
- Median household income
- $58,534+38.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $76,018
- Median home value
- $200,000
- Jobs located here
- 34,727
- Daytime population
- 92,263Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes63
- Sit-down restaurants58
- Fast food and sandwich shops46
- Pizza49
- Coffee shops and cafes69
- Bakeries and dessert shops66
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 Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area?
The Shelby-Kings Mountain area has 309 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 128 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 152 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 6.3% from 2019. Official counts list 33 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $127.3M a year, or $3,278 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 309 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $412K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 38,850 households in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Shelby-Kings Mountain area has 79.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $412K, 11% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Shelby-Kings Mountain area would have about 343, against 309 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 256 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Shelby-Kings Mountain area at 103,325 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 38,850 households. The median household income in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area is $58,534 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.6% 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. 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area scores 63 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #140 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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.