Food and drink · Metro area · South Carolina
Restaurants and cafes in the Columbia, SC metro area
The restaurants and cafes in the Columbia, SC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #141 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 3,186
- 1,443 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 1,433
- +9.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.2B
- On food away from home · $3,627 a household
- Spending per listing
- $387K
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 93.8
- 15% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 879,918
- +6.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Columbia metro 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 Columbia metro 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Columbia metro area comes to about $1.2B a year: $3,627 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $387K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 4% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Columbia metro area has 3,186 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 93.8 per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 1,433 businesses with payroll in the Columbia metro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 9.6% from 2019. That is one for every 237 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 342 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 56 SBA-backed loans worth $33.2M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Columbia metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Columbia metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Columbia metro area is 58 (upper middle), #141 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Columbia metro area compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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 | Columbia metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 93.8 | 103.7 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $387K | $353K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 237 | 218 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.6% | +9.1% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,627 | $3,660 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,359 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 58 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,433+9.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 31,665
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $601.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 342Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3,1861,443 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3,322The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 56
- Amount
- $33.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Columbia metro 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 Columbia metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 879,918+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 339,601
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,703 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 229
- Median household income
- $68,359+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,243
- Median home value
- $232,400
- Jobs located here
- 410,492
- Daytime population
- 894,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbia metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Columbia metro 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbia metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 70 | 10,543 | 98.0 | $419K | +10.1% | #62 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 61 | 2,116 | 91.3 | $400K | +4.7% | #123 of 387 |
| 1Sumter, SC | 60 | 310 | 75.5 | $433K | −0.3% | #126 of 387 |
| 2Spartanburg, SC | 59 | 1,305 | 91.1 | $379K | +14.3% | #139 of 387 |
| 3Columbia, SC | 58 | 3,186 | 93.8 | $387K | +6.0% | #141 of 387 |
| 4Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 46 | 4,093 | 121.9 | $337K | +10.7% | #217 of 387 |
| 5Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 45 | 4,018 | 104.7 | $353K | +9.0% | #222 of 387 |
| 6Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 41 | 1,238 | 129.7 | $318K | +12.0% | #256 of 387 |
| 7Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 25 | 2,554 | 160.9 | $218K | +20.9% | #356 of 387 |
| 8Florence, SC | 23 | 777 | 99.1 | $330K | +0.9% | #364 of 387 |
Other business types in the Columbia metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes58
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops41
- Pizza61
- Coffee shops and cafes76
- Bakeries and dessert shops73
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 Columbia, SC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 3,186 restaurants and cafes in the Columbia metro area. 1,443 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,433 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 9.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 342 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Columbia, SC metro area spend on food away from home?
About $1.2B a year, or $3,627 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,186 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $387K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 339,601 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbia, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Columbia metro area has 93.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $387K, 4% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 3,322, against 3,186 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 237 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Columbia, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 879,918 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,601 households. Median household income in the Columbia metro area is $68,359, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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. The Columbia metro area scores 58 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #141 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Columbia metro 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 Columbia metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia metro 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 Columbia metro 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.