Food and drink · Small-town market · South Carolina
Restaurants and cafes in the Seneca, SC area
How the Seneca, SC 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 85 out of 100: High
Ranked #12 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 6 scored small-town markets based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 234
- 81 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 116
- +11.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $120.7M
- On food away from home · $3,497 a household
- Spending per listing
- $516K
- 39% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 67.8
- 38% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 83,775
- +6.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Seneca 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 Seneca 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
For restaurants and cafes, the Seneca area has a Groundwork market score of 85 (high): #12 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 6 scored small-town markets based in South Carolina. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for restaurants and cafes.
As of September 2026, map listings count 234 restaurants and cafes in the Seneca area. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 67.8, 38% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in the Seneca area spend about $120.7M a year on food away from home, or $3,497 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $516K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 39% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 116 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Seneca area in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. That is one for every 298 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Seneca area. Population estimates show the Seneca area grew 6.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Seneca 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 | Seneca area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 67.8 | 103.7 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $516K | $353K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 298 | 218 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.5% | +9.1% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.3% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,497 | $3,660 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $62,388 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 85 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 116+11.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,899
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $36.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 28Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23481 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 326The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Seneca 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 Seneca area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 83,775+6.3% since 2020
- Households
- 34,515
- Median age
- 45.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 627 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 128
- Median household income
- $62,388+27.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,233
- Median home value
- $237,100
- Jobs located here
- 24,938
- Daytime population
- 73,699Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Seneca 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 Seneca 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 small-town markets in South Carolina for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with the Seneca area marked.
Top small-town markets in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Seneca, SC | 85 | 234 | 67.8 | $516K | +6.3% | #12 of 538 |
| 2Newberry, SC | 64 | 125 | 81.6 | $400K | +4.8% | #133 of 538 |
| 3Gaffney, SC | 62 | 179 | 81.1 | $374K | +3.7% | #156 of 538 |
| 4Greenwood, SC | 51 | 329 | 87.4 | $365K | +1.7% | #252 of 538 |
| 5Murrells Inlet, SC | 37 | 368 | 135.6 | $271K | +3.8% | #402 of 538 |
| 6Orangeburg, SC | 24 | 328 | 99.2 | $300K | −0.9% | #489 of 538 |
Other business types in the Seneca area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes85
- Sit-down restaurants70
- Fast food and sandwich shops86
- Pizza78
- Coffee shops and cafes83
- Bakeries and dessert shops87
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 Seneca, SC area?
The Seneca area has 234 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 81 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 116 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 28 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Seneca, SC area spend on food away from home?
About $120.7M a year, or $3,497 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 234 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $516K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 34,515 households in the Seneca area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Seneca, SC area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Seneca area has 67.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $516K, 39% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Seneca area would have about 326, against 234 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 298 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Seneca, SC area growing?
Population estimates put the Seneca area at 83,775 people in 2025, up 6.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 34,515 households. The median household income in the Seneca area is $62,388 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.0% 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 Seneca area scores 85 for restaurants and cafes (high), #12 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 Seneca 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 Seneca area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Seneca 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 Seneca 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.