Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio
Restaurants and cafes in the Ashland, OH area
The restaurants and cafes in the Ashland, OH area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #79 of 538 scored small-town markets
#8 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio
- Listings
- 146
- 66 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 78
- +11.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $72.9M
- On food away from home · $3,518 a household
- Spending per listing
- $499K
- 35% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 70.5
- 36% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 52,523
- +0.1% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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 $3,518 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Ashland area spend about $72.9M a year on food away from home. That works out to $499K per restaurant, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Ashland area has 146 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 45% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 70.5 per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ashland area was 78 in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. That is one for every 266 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $254K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ashland area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Ashland area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Ashland area has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #79 of 538 scored small-town markets and #8 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Ashland area compares
The same measures for Ohio 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 | Ashland area | Ohio | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 70.5 | 93.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $499K | $410K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 266 | 235 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.4% | +6.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | +0.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,518 | $3,829 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $69,860 | $71,389 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 58 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 78+11.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,562
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $27.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14666 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 197The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $254K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Ashland 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 Ashland area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 52,523+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 20,720
- Median age
- 42.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 423 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 124
- Median household income
- $69,860+32.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $82,890
- Median home value
- $186,800
- Jobs located here
- 18,646
- Daytime population
- 47,965Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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 Ohio
Every Ohio market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Ohio for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Ohio, with the Ashland area marked.
Top small-town markets in Ohio
| 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 |
Other business types in the Ashland area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes70
- Sit-down restaurants75
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza43
- Coffee shops and cafes59
- 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 Ashland, OH area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 146 restaurants and cafes in the Ashland area. 66 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 78 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Ashland, OH area spend on food away from home?
About $72.9M a year, or $3,518 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 146 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $499K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 20,720 households in the Ashland area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ashland, OH area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Ashland area has 70.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $499K, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Ashland area would have about 197, against 146 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 266 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ashland, OH area growing?
Population estimates put the Ashland area at 52,523 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 20,720 households. Median household income in the Ashland area is $69,860, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.3%, 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 Ashland area scores 70 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #79 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 Ashland 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 Ashland area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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.