Market rankings · Ohio

Restaurants and cafes in Ohio

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Ohio, ranked by the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 45,462; 17,722 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments: 20,682; +6.3% since 2019
Household spending a year: $18.6B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 93.5; 15% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $410K; 10% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #17 of 51; Market score 58 · Upper middle

A site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings around any address in Ohio by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

There are 45,462 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Ohio as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 93.5, 15% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,829 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Ohio spend about $18.6B a year on food away from home. That works out to $410K per restaurant, 10% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

In 2023, official counts showed 20,682 businesses with payroll in Ohio classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 6.3% from 2019. That is one for every 235 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.0% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 1,243 SBA-backed loans worth $385.8M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Ohio.

Among the 50 states and DC, Ohio ranks #17 for restaurants and cafes, with a Groundwork market score of 58 (upper middle). Of the 15 scored metro areas in or partly in Ohio, the Columbus metro area scores highest (71). Of the 29 scored small-town markets in or partly in Ohio, the Mount Vernon area scores highest (82).

Every market in Ohio for restaurants and cafes

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Ohio, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Ohio, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Columbus, OH	71	8,578	99.2	$421K	+4.7%	#55 of 387
2Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	67	3,012	87.5	$435K	+1.5%	#78 of 387
3Springfield, OH	66	409	73.1	$479K	−0.4%	#83 of 387
4Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	65	8,872	97.9	$419K	+2.7%	#94 of 387
5Akron, OH	57	2,762	93.1	$413K	0.0%	#143 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH	52	1,196	78.6	$427K	−2.6%	#175 of 387
6Mansfield, OH	52	419	83.6	$402K	−0.1%	#177 of 387
7Canton-Massillon, OH	47	1,529	91.5	$396K	−0.2%	#207 of 387
8Cleveland, OH	46	9,367	100.6	$383K	−0.8%	#214 of 387
9Lima, OH	43	365	88.4	$396K	−1.2%	#235 of 387
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH	41	433	87.2	$378K	−3.6%	#249 of 387
10Toledo, OH	37	2,447	96.2	$381K	−1.0%	#282 of 387
11Youngstown-Warren, OH	32	1,723	93.3	$360K	−1.4%	#319 of 387
Wheeling, WV-OH	28	557	96.0	$348K	−3.6%	#341 of 387
12Sandusky, OH	13	804	157.7	$240K	−2.6%	#385 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Ohio, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Mount Vernon, OH	82	169	71.9	$530K	+1.9%	#19 of 538
2Urbana, OH	82	114	72.9	$513K	+0.2%	#21 of 538
3Wilmington, OH	80	126	75.2	$491K	+0.6%	#29 of 538
4Wooster, OH	76	321	72.4	$518K	−0.1%	#43 of 538
5Sidney, OH	76	141	74.6	$511K	−0.2%	#44 of 538
6Coshocton, OH	75	102	69.0	$474K	+1.6%	#51 of 538
7Greenville, OH	73	157	73.7	$477K	−0.7%	#60 of 538
8Ashland, OH	70	146	70.5	$499K	+0.1%	#79 of 538
9Van Wert, OH	67	88	76.2	$465K	+0.3%	#100 of 538
10Wapakoneta, OH	67	162	85.5	$456K	−1.2%	#101 of 538
11Bellefontaine, OH	67	164	83.8	$442K	+0.4%	#103 of 538
12Norwalk, OH	65	198	84.3	$422K	−0.4%	#123 of 538
13Bucyrus, OH	63	134	74.2	$448K	−0.3%	#137 of 538
14Marion, OH	63	197	79.8	$421K	−0.4%	#139 of 538
15Tiffin, OH	62	183	82.1	$425K	−1.0%	#148 of 538
16Findlay, OH	61	271	85.7	$441K	+0.1%	#157 of 538
17Fremont, OH	61	214	86.7	$401K	−0.4%	#159 of 538
18Salem, OH	60	312	75.3	$444K	−2.2%	#164 of 538
19Portsmouth, OH	56	181	62.7	$509K	−3.4%	#195 of 538
20Chillicothe, OH	56	241	80.9	$424K	−0.8%	#197 of 538
21Celina, OH	56	153	93.2	$402K	+0.5%	#198 of 538
22Defiance, OH	56	145	94.6	$386K	+0.1%	#201 of 538
23Gallipolis, OH	55	92	79.2	$420K	−0.5%	#209 of 538
24Marietta, OH	54	193	77.9	$446K	−2.1%	#219 of 538
25Zanesville, OH	53	287	83.5	$411K	+0.7%	#232 of 538
26Cambridge, OH	49	138	84.6	$390K	−0.1%	#264 of 538
27New Philadelphia-Dover, OH	44	368	95.6	$364K	−0.9%	#331 of 538
28Washington Court House, OH	42	111	95.8	$371K	−1.4%	#352 of 538
29Athens, OH	30	274	119.1	$282K	+1.3%	#460 of 538

Counties

Counties in Ohio, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Union County, OH	92	178	73.5	$655K	+16.5%	#17 of 2,405
2Morrow County, OH	87	64	47.5	$812K	+3.7%	#40 of 2,405
3Pickaway County, OH	83	140	63.9	$602K	+7.4%	#91 of 2,405
4Fairfield County, OH	81	447	74.1	$578K	+6.5%	#120 of 2,405
5Warren County, OH	80	693	75.3	$648K	+5.7%	#133 of 2,405
6Madison County, OH	79	144	91.8	$452K	+7.1%	#161 of 2,405
7Clermont County, OH	77	624	73.5	$568K	+3.9%	#196 of 2,405
8Brown County, OH	75	114	66.5	$545K	+1.6%	#241 of 2,405
9Holmes County, OH	74	99	73.9	$541K	+1.7%	#263 of 2,405
10Medina County, OH	73	606	82.9	$535K	+1.3%	#303 of 2,405
11Lorain County, OH	73	993	77.9	$501K	+3.1%	#313 of 2,405
12Perry County, OH	72	84	62.4	$578K	+1.3%	#333 of 2,405
13Miami County, OH	72	353	78.6	$498K	+3.4%	#345 of 2,405
14Paulding County, OH	71	45	59.0	$615K	−0.4%	#359 of 2,405
15Delaware County, OH	71	868	105.5	$514K	+12.5%	#370 of 2,405
16Licking County, OH	71	564	82.2	$507K	+3.8%	#372 of 2,405
17Geauga County, OH	70	262	73.2	$661K	+0.3%	#390 of 2,405
18Champaign County, OH	70	114	72.9	$513K	+0.2%	#401 of 2,405
19Vinton County, OH	69	26	48.8	$684K	−1.2%	#417 of 2,405
20Knox County, OH	69	169	71.9	$530K	+1.9%	#421 of 2,405
21Highland County, OH	67	104	61.4	$559K	+1.1%	#471 of 2,405
22Putnam County, OH	67	97	73.7	$547K	0.0%	#472 of 2,405
23Clinton County, OH	67	126	75.2	$491K	+0.6%	#481 of 2,405
24Morgan County, OH	66	24	42.0	$771K	−0.9%	#500 of 2,405
25Preble County, OH	65	117	70.0	$510K	−0.8%	#548 of 2,405

Show all 88 counties

Counties in Ohio, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Greene County, OH	65	614	90.1	$476K	+3.7%	#558 of 2,405
27Wayne County, OH	64	321	72.4	$518K	−0.1%	#591 of 2,405
28Shelby County, OH	64	141	74.6	$511K	−0.2%	#594 of 2,405
29Lawrence County, OH	63	107	47.2	$702K	−4.2%	#624 of 2,405
30Noble County, OH	63	31	67.1	$510K	+1.3%	#628 of 2,405
31Coshocton County, OH	63	102	69.0	$474K	+1.6%	#629 of 2,405
32Adams County, OH	62	62	59.5	$524K	+1.5%	#658 of 2,405
33Henry County, OH	62	90	78.6	$484K	−0.2%	#665 of 2,405
34Carroll County, OH	62	82	73.2	$482K	−1.1%	#667 of 2,405
35Portage County, OH	62	540	82.8	$468K	+1.0%	#673 of 2,405
36Meigs County, OH	61	41	45.0	$664K	−2.6%	#701 of 2,405
37Fulton County, OH	61	123	72.4	$531K	−1.9%	#705 of 2,405
38Darke County, OH	61	157	73.7	$477K	−0.7%	#709 of 2,405
39Monroe County, OH	60	34	60.2	$564K	−2.7%	#743 of 2,405
40Pike County, OH	60	65	59.8	$556K	0.0%	#744 of 2,405
41Ashland County, OH	59	146	70.5	$499K	+0.1%	#782 of 2,405
42Clark County, OH	59	409	73.1	$479K	−0.4%	#786 of 2,405
43Hardin County, OH	58	77	65.7	$535K	−2.1%	#820 of 2,405
44Butler County, OH	58	1,438	97.9	$419K	+2.4%	#835 of 2,405
45Van Wert County, OH	56	88	76.2	$465K	+0.3%	#905 of 2,405
46Auglaize County, OH	56	162	85.5	$456K	−1.2%	#910 of 2,405
47Logan County, OH	55	164	83.8	$442K	+0.4%	#949 of 2,405
48Huron County, OH	53	198	84.3	$422K	−0.4%	#1,049 of 2,405
49Crawford County, OH	52	134	74.2	$448K	−0.3%	#1,084 of 2,405
50Montgomery County, OH	52	2,045	88.4	$412K	+0.5%	#1,090 of 2,405
51Hancock County, OH	51	271	85.7	$441K	+0.1%	#1,125 of 2,405
52Harrison County, OH	51	44	74.0	$434K	−2.9%	#1,126 of 2,405
53Seneca County, OH	51	183	82.1	$425K	−1.0%	#1,130 of 2,405
54Marion County, OH	51	197	79.8	$421K	−0.4%	#1,132 of 2,405
55Franklin County, OH	51	5,981	108.1	$370K	+2.8%	#1,153 of 2,405
56Jackson County, OH	50	93	71.9	$455K	+0.5%	#1,170 of 2,405
57Wood County, OH	50	529	97.5	$403K	+1.5%	#1,179 of 2,405
58Columbiana County, OH	49	312	75.3	$444K	−2.2%	#1,216 of 2,405
59Sandusky County, OH	49	214	86.7	$401K	−0.4%	#1,223 of 2,405
60Summit County, OH	49	2,222	96.1	$400K	−0.3%	#1,224 of 2,405
61Lake County, OH	49	1,028	101.6	$396K	−0.1%	#1,226 of 2,405
62Scioto County, OH	48	181	62.7	$509K	−3.4%	#1,253 of 2,405
63Jefferson County, OH	47	208	76.6	$430K	−2.4%	#1,298 of 2,405
64Ross County, OH	47	241	80.9	$424K	−0.8%	#1,300 of 2,405
65Richland County, OH	47	419	83.6	$402K	−0.1%	#1,306 of 2,405
66Gallia County, OH	46	92	79.2	$420K	−0.5%	#1,339 of 2,405
67Defiance County, OH	46	145	94.6	$386K	+0.1%	#1,348 of 2,405
68Washington County, OH	45	193	77.9	$446K	−2.1%	#1,374 of 2,405
69Williams County, OH	45	129	83.4	$403K	−1.4%	#1,383 of 2,405
70Mercer County, OH	45	153	93.2	$402K	+0.5%	#1,384 of 2,405
71Belmont County, OH	44	213	78.3	$428K	−2.8%	#1,431 of 2,405
72Stark County, OH	44	1,447	92.8	$391K	−0.2%	#1,440 of 2,405
73Muskingum County, OH	43	287	83.5	$411K	+0.7%	#1,481 of 2,405
74Allen County, OH	42	365	88.4	$396K	−1.2%	#1,519 of 2,405
75Hamilton County, OH	42	4,003	112.8	$350K	+1.0%	#1,537 of 2,405
76Trumbull County, OH	41	743	85.8	$386K	−1.3%	#1,561 of 2,405
77Guernsey County, OH	40	138	84.6	$390K	−0.1%	#1,602 of 2,405
78Hocking County, OH	39	108	93.4	$367K	−1.9%	#1,643 of 2,405
79Wyandot County, OH	38	87	96.7	$372K	−1.4%	#1,688 of 2,405
80Tuscarawas County, OH	36	368	95.6	$364K	−0.9%	#1,768 of 2,405
81Lucas County, OH	35	1,795	98.0	$364K	−1.7%	#1,816 of 2,405
82Fayette County, OH	34	111	95.8	$371K	−1.4%	#1,860 of 2,405
83Cuyahoga County, OH	33	6,060	109.3	$339K	−2.3%	#1,903 of 2,405
84Mahoning County, OH	29	980	99.9	$339K	−1.4%	#2,059 of 2,405
85Athens County, OH	25	274	119.1	$282K	+1.3%	#2,191 of 2,405
86Ashtabula County, OH	24	418	106.5	$312K	−0.8%	#2,208 of 2,405
87Ottawa County, OH	22	281	151.9	$258K	−2.0%	#2,254 of 2,405
88Erie County, OH	19	523	161.0	$231K	−2.9%	#2,312 of 2,405

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Ohio?

As of September 2026, map listings count 45,462 restaurants and cafes in Ohio. 17,722 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 20,682 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 6.3% from 2019. Another 3,650 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Ohio spend on food away from home?

About $18.6B a year, or $3,829 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 45,462 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $410K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,863,191 households in Ohio and national spending patterns by income.

How does Ohio compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Ohio has 93.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $410K, 10% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Ohio would have about 50,217, against 45,462 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 rose 6.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

Which market in Ohio has the highest market score for restaurants and cafes?

Among 15 scored metro areas in or partly in Ohio, the Columbus metro area scores highest, at 71 (upper middle). Among 29 scored small-town markets in or partly in Ohio, the Mount Vernon area scores highest, at 82 (high). Among 88 scored counties in Ohio, Union County scores highest, at 92 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Ohio scores 58 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #17 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Ohio. 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.

Sit-down restaurants23,791 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops6,625 listings
Pizza4,676 listings
Coffee shops and cafes3,914 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops4,025 listings

Screening a site or an acquisition in Ohio?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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