Food and drink · County · Pennsylvania
Restaurants and cafes in Berks County, PA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Berks County, PA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #520 of 2,405 scored counties
#13 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 1,484
- 413 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 606
- −3.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $643.6M
- On food away from home · $3,943 a household
- Spending per listing
- $434K
- 17% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 90.9
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 440,072
- +2.7% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Berks 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 Berks 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
Household spending on food away from home in Berks County comes to about $643.6M a year: $3,943 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That works out to $434K per restaurant, 17% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Berks County has 1,484 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 90.9, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Berks County was 606 in 2023, down 3.8% from 2019. That is one for every 269 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 163 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 32 SBA-backed loans worth $13.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Berks County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Berks County grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Berks County scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #520 of 2,405 scored counties and #13 of 64 scored counties in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Berks County compares
The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 | Berks County | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 90.9 | 100.2 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $434K | $397K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 269 | 237 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.8% | +1.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,943 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $79,777 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 630 → 606−3.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 10,634
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $205M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 163Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,484413 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,736The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 32
- Amount
- $13.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Berks 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 Berks County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 440,072+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 163,236
- Median age
- 40.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 856 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 506
- Median household income
- $79,777+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $103,265
- Median home value
- $257,300
- Jobs located here
- 179,513
- Daytime population
- 404,462Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Berks 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 Berks 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Berks County marked.
Top counties in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pike County, PA | 83 | 181 | 74.6 | $534K | +7.2% | #95 of 2,405 |
| 2Perry County, PA | 82 | 103 | 56.3 | $685K | +2.1% | #101 of 2,405 |
| 3Chester County, PA | 77 | 1,940 | 94.7 | $549K | +4.2% | #199 of 2,405 |
| 4Lebanon County, PA | 75 | 405 | 71.4 | $541K | +2.2% | #243 of 2,405 |
| 5York County, PA | 75 | 1,502 | 82.7 | $488K | +3.6% | #248 of 2,405 |
| 6Butler County, PA | 74 | 674 | 83.4 | $507K | +3.2% | #269 of 2,405 |
| 7Franklin County, PA | 72 | 485 | 76.4 | $501K | +3.0% | #342 of 2,405 |
| 8Juniata County, PA | 71 | 43 | 47.6 | $741K | −0.3% | #355 of 2,405 |
| 9Fulton County, PA | 70 | 38 | 59.9 | $586K | −0.6% | #393 of 2,405 |
| 10Lancaster County, PA | 68 | 1,883 | 88.5 | $467K | +1.9% | #452 of 2,405 |
| 13Berks County, PA | 66 | 1,484 | 90.9 | $434K | +2.7% | #520 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Berks County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes66
- Sit-down restaurants64
- Fast food and sandwich shops72
- Pizza64
- Coffee shops and cafes73
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Berks County, PA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,484 restaurants and cafes in Berks County. 413 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 606 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 3.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 163 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Berks County, PA spend on food away from home?
About $643.6M a year, or $3,943 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,484 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $434K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 163,236 households in Berks County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Berks County, PA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Berks County has 90.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $434K, 17% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Berks County would have about 1,736, against 1,484 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 269 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Berks County, PA growing?
Population estimates put Berks County at 440,072 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 163,236 households. Median household income in Berks County is $79,777, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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. Berks County scores 66 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #520 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Berks 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 Berks County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Berks 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 Berks 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.