Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Tennessee

Restaurants and cafes in Lake County, TN

How Lake County, TN compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
17
5 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$5.4M
On food away from home · $2,604 a household
Spending per listing
$317K
15% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
82.2
25% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,249
−10.6% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Lake 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 Lake County. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 restaurants and cafes in Lake County. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 29%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 82.2 per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in Lake County spend about $5.4M a year on food away from home, or $2,604 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. Spread across 17 restaurants and cafes, that is $317K per restaurant, 15% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lake County in 2023. That is one for every 517 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Lake County declined 10.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Lake County compares

The same measures for Tennessee 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 Lake County, TN compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureLake CountyTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households82.2102.9109.8
Spending per listing$317K$357K$371K
Households per official establishment517229209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.9%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−10.6%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,604$3,670$4,070
Median household income$28,814$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored49

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 4
Employees, 2023
63
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
175 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lake 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 Lake County

Population, 2025 estimate
6,249−10.6% since 2020
Households
2,067
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
48%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
166 sq. mi.
People per square mile
40
Median household income
$28,814
Average household income
$49,017
Median home value
$97,900
Jobs located here
1,321
Daytime population
5,762Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lake 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 Lake County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Lake County marked.

Top counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fayette County, TN919655.8$719K+7.7%#19 of 2,405
2Roane County, TN8413358.4$623K+7.0%#69 of 2,405
3Loudon County, TN8417773.6$540K+15.6%#77 of 2,405
4Meigs County, TN812547.8$694K+10.8%#115 of 2,405
5Hickman County, TN814749.8$687K+5.0%#116 of 2,405
6Union County, TN803847.9$689K+8.1%#130 of 2,405
7Cheatham County, TN8011470.0$567K+4.1%#138 of 2,405
8Grainger County, TN774647.6$645K+9.2%#187 of 2,405
9Macon County, TN774851.0$635K+9.5%#188 of 2,405
10Smith County, TN775265.6$539K+5.1%#201 of 2,405
Lake County, TNNot scored1782.2$317K−10.6%

Other business types in Lake County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Lake County, TN?

There are 17 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Lake County as of September 2026. 5 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Lake County, TN spend on food away from home?

About $5.4M a year, or $2,604 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $317K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,067 households in Lake County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lake County, TN compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Lake County has 82.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $317K, 15% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Lake County would have about 15, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 517 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Lake County, TN growing?

Population estimates put Lake County at 6,249 people in 2025, down 10.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,067 households. The median household income in Lake County is $28,814 a year, 64% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lake 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 Lake County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lake 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 Lake 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.