Food and drink · County · Oklahoma
Restaurants and cafes in Cherokee County, OK
How Cherokee County, OK 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,629 of 2,405 scored counties
#26 of 57 scored counties in Oklahoma
- Listings
- 186
- 63 chain locations (34%)
- Official establishments
- 70
- +11.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $59M
- On food away from home · $3,156 a household
- Spending per listing
- $317K
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 99.5
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 49,196
- +4.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 186 restaurants and cafes in Cherokee County. 63 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 99.5, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Cherokee County comes to about $59M a year: $3,156 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That is about $317K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 70 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Cherokee County in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. That is one for every 267 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $825K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Cherokee County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cherokee County grew 4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, Cherokee County has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #1,629 of 2,405 scored counties and #26 of 57 scored counties in Oklahoma.
How Cherokee County compares
The same measures for Oklahoma 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 | Cherokee County | Oklahoma | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 99.5 | 107.6 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $317K | $327K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 267 | 227 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.1% | +5.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +4.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,156 | $3,519 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $53,218 | $65,039 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 36 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 63 → 70+11.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,271
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $27.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 18663 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 159The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $825K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 49,196+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 18,698
- Median age
- 38.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 749 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 64
- Median household income
- $53,218+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,290
- Median home value
- $168,500
- Jobs located here
- 13,276
- Daytime population
- 42,397Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County. 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 Oklahoma
Every Oklahoma market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Oklahoma for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Oklahoma, with Cherokee County marked.
Top counties in Oklahoma
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rogers County, OK | 87 | 215 | 58.6 | $663K | +7.1% | #43 of 2,405 |
| 2Wagoner County, OK | 87 | 229 | 73.0 | $529K | +14.6% | #47 of 2,405 |
| 3Logan County, OK | 86 | 149 | 83.5 | $482K | +11.5% | #56 of 2,405 |
| 4Grady County, OK | 79 | 148 | 71.5 | $520K | +7.7% | #154 of 2,405 |
| 5Canadian County, OK | 79 | 470 | 80.7 | $501K | +20.4% | #155 of 2,405 |
| 6Washita County, OK | 71 | 20 | 48.4 | $683K | −0.2% | #357 of 2,405 |
| 7Creek County, OK | 71 | 199 | 70.5 | $485K | +4.4% | #375 of 2,405 |
| 8Osage County, OK | 71 | 125 | 71.9 | $485K | +2.2% | #376 of 2,405 |
| 9Lincoln County, OK | 65 | 104 | 79.1 | $425K | +5.3% | #574 of 2,405 |
| 10McClain County, OK | 61 | 167 | 101.7 | $390K | +18.4% | #733 of 2,405 |
| 26Cherokee County, OK | 40 | 186 | 99.5 | $317K | +4.5% | #1,629 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Cherokee County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes40
- Sit-down restaurants34
- Fast food and sandwich shops46
- Pizza50
- Coffee shops and cafes45
- Bakeries and dessert shops69
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 Cherokee County, OK?
There are 186 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Cherokee County as of September 2026. 63 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 70 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Cherokee County, OK spend on food away from home?
About $59M a year, or $3,156 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 186 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $317K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,698 households in Cherokee County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cherokee County, OK compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Cherokee County has 99.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $317K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Cherokee County would have about 159, against 186 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 267 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Cherokee County, OK growing?
Population estimates put Cherokee County at 49,196 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,698 households. The median household income in Cherokee County is $53,218 a year, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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. Cherokee County scores 40 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #1,629 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.