Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Restaurants and cafes in the Wapakoneta, OH area

How the Wapakoneta, OH 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #101 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
162
52 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
77
+6.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$73.8M
On food away from home · $3,897 a household
Spending per listing
$456K
23% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
85.5
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
45,909
−1.2% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Wapakoneta 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 Wapakoneta area. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 162 restaurants and cafes in the Wapakoneta area. 52 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 85.5 for every 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,897 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in the Wapakoneta area spend about $73.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $456K per restaurant, 23% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 77 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Wapakoneta area in 2023, up 6.9% from 2019. That is one for every 246 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 9 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.6M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Wapakoneta area.

Population estimates show the Wapakoneta area declined 1.2% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For restaurants and cafes, the Wapakoneta area has a Groundwork market score of 67 (upper middle): #101 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Wapakoneta 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Wapakoneta, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureWapakoneta areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households85.593.5109.8
Spending per listing$456K$410K$371K
Households per official establishment246235209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.9%+6.3%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.2%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,897$3,829$4,070
Median household income$78,660$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6758

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
77+6.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,447
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
9Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
16252 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
199The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$2.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Wapakoneta 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 Wapakoneta area

Population, 2025 estimate
45,909−1.2% since 2020
Households
18,940
Median age
41.5
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
401 sq. mi.
People per square mile
115
Median household income
$78,660+22.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,188
Median home value
$189,800
Jobs located here
21,728
Daytime population
44,759Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Wapakoneta 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 Wapakoneta area. 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 small-town markets in Ohio for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Ohio, with the Wapakoneta area marked.

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Mount Vernon, OH8216971.9$530K+1.9%#19 of 538
2Urbana, OH8211472.9$513K+0.2%#21 of 538
3Wilmington, OH8012675.2$491K+0.6%#29 of 538
4Wooster, OH7632172.4$518K−0.1%#43 of 538
5Sidney, OH7614174.6$511K−0.2%#44 of 538
6Coshocton, OH7510269.0$474K+1.6%#51 of 538
7Greenville, OH7315773.7$477K−0.7%#60 of 538
8Ashland, OH7014670.5$499K+0.1%#79 of 538
9Van Wert, OH678876.2$465K+0.3%#100 of 538
10Wapakoneta, OH6716285.5$456K−1.2%#101 of 538

Other business types in the Wapakoneta area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Wapakoneta, OH area?

The Wapakoneta area has 162 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 52 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 77 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 6.9% from 2019. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Wapakoneta, OH area spend on food away from home?

About $73.8M a year, or $3,897 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 162 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $456K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,940 households in the Wapakoneta area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Wapakoneta, OH area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Wapakoneta area has 85.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $456K, 23% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Wapakoneta area would have about 199, against 162 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 246 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Wapakoneta, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Wapakoneta area at 45,909 people in 2025, down 1.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 18,940 households. The median household income in the Wapakoneta area is $78,660 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.8% 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 Wapakoneta area scores 67 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #101 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 Wapakoneta 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 Wapakoneta area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wapakoneta 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 Wapakoneta 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.