Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Restaurants and cafes in Fairfield County, OH

How Fairfield County, OH compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 81 out of 100: High

Ranked #120 of 2,405 scored counties
#4 of 88 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
447
198 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
227
+4.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$258.4M
On food away from home · $4,281 a household
Spending per listing
$578K
56% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
74.1
33% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
169,752
+6.5% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Fairfield County

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 Fairfield County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

For restaurants and cafes, Fairfield County has a Groundwork market score of 81 (high): #120 of 2,405 scored counties and #4 of 88 scored counties in Ohio. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for restaurants and cafes.

As of September 2026, map listings count 447 restaurants and cafes in Fairfield County. Chain locations make up 44% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 74.1 per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Fairfield County comes to about $258.4M a year: $4,281 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. Spread across 447 restaurants and cafes, that is $578K per restaurant, 56% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 227 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Fairfield County in 2023, up 4.6% from 2019. That is one for every 266 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $3.3M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Fairfield County. Population estimates put the population change in Fairfield County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Fairfield County 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Fairfield County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureFairfield CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households74.193.5109.8
Spending per listing$578K$410K$371K
Households per official establishment266235209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+4.6%+6.3%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.5%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,281$3,829$4,070
Median household income$90,966$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score8158

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
217 → 227+4.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,741
Annual payroll, 2023
$109.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
55Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
447198 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
697The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$3.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Fairfield County, 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 Fairfield County

Population, 2025 estimate
169,752+6.5% since 2020
Households
60,357
Median age
40.7
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
504 sq. mi.
People per square mile
324
Median household income
$90,966+34.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$110,298
Median home value
$298,800
Jobs located here
45,097
Daytime population
132,629Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Fairfield County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Fairfield County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Ohio for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Ohio, with Fairfield County marked.

Top counties in Ohio

Counties in Ohio ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Union County, OH9217873.5$655K+16.5%#17 of 2,405
2Morrow County, OH876447.5$812K+3.7%#40 of 2,405
3Pickaway County, OH8314063.9$602K+7.4%#91 of 2,405
4Fairfield County, OH8144774.1$578K+6.5%#120 of 2,405
5Warren County, OH8069375.3$648K+5.7%#133 of 2,405
6Madison County, OH7914491.8$452K+7.1%#161 of 2,405
7Clermont County, OH7762473.5$568K+3.9%#196 of 2,405
8Brown County, OH7511466.5$545K+1.6%#241 of 2,405
9Holmes County, OH749973.9$541K+1.7%#263 of 2,405
10Medina County, OH7360682.9$535K+1.3%#303 of 2,405

Other business types in Fairfield County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Fairfield County, OH?

Fairfield County has 447 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 198 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 227 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 4.6% from 2019. Another 55 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Fairfield County, OH spend on food away from home?

About $258.4M a year, or $4,281 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 447 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $578K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 60,357 households in Fairfield County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Fairfield County, OH compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Fairfield County has 74.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $578K, 56% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Fairfield County would have about 697, against 447 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 4.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Fairfield County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Fairfield County at 169,752 people in 2025, up 6.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 60,357 households. The median household income in Fairfield County is $90,966 a year, 13% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.6% 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. 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. Fairfield County scores 81 for restaurants and cafes (high), #120 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Fairfield County. 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 Fairfield County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Fairfield County?

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 Fairfield County. 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.