Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Texas

Restaurants and cafes in the Amarillo, TX metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Amarillo, TX metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #327 of 387 scored metro areas
#17 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
1,119
469 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
520
+10.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$377.1M
On food away from home · $3,659 a household
Spending per listing
$337K
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
108.6
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
276,235
+2.7% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Amarillo 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 Amarillo metro area. 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

The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Amarillo metro area is 31 (lower middle), #327 of 387 scored metro areas and #17 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Household spending on food away from home in the Amarillo metro area comes to about $377.1M a year: $3,659 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $337K per restaurant, 9% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 1,119 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Amarillo metro area as of September 2026. 469 of them (42%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 108.6 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Amarillo metro area was 520 in 2023, up 10.4% from 2019. That is one for every 198 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $3.6M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Amarillo metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Amarillo metro area grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Amarillo metro area compares

The same measures for Texas 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 Amarillo, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureAmarillo metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households108.6120.5109.8
Spending per listing$337K$329K$371K
Households per official establishment198207209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.4%+12.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,659$3,970$4,070
Median household income$69,611$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score3145

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
520+10.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
11,649
Annual payroll, 2023
$241.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
145Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,119469 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,017The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$3.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Amarillo 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 Amarillo metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
276,235+2.7% since 2020
Households
103,062
Median age
37.0
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,151 sq. mi.
People per square mile
53
Median household income
$69,611+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,771
Median home value
$208,700
Jobs located here
124,760
Daytime population
274,340Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Amarillo 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 Amarillo metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Amarillo metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Texas

Metro areas in Texas ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX6611,883120.1$379K+14.0%#90 of 387
2Sherman-Denison, TX56632114.4$325K+12.8%#151 of 387
3Midland, TX55820117.8$369K+9.8%#158 of 387
4Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX5234,506119.3$359K+10.6%#181 of 387
5Killeen-Temple, TX521,76399.2$357K+7.2%#182 of 387
6Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX4932,354121.6$338K+10.3%#201 of 387
7Odessa, TX48685106.1$348K+5.0%#204 of 387
8San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX4411,594119.8$323K+9.5%#234 of 387
9Wichita Falls, TX4054696.2$364K+0.7%#259 of 387
10Longview, TX351,166107.8$324K+3.8%#299 of 387
17Amarillo, TX311,119108.6$337K+2.7%#327 of 387

Other business types in the Amarillo metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Amarillo, TX metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1,119 restaurants and cafes in the Amarillo metro area. 469 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 520 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 10.4% from 2019. Another 145 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Amarillo, TX metro area spend on food away from home?

About $377.1M a year, or $3,659 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,119 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $337K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 103,062 households in the Amarillo metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Amarillo, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Amarillo metro area has 108.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $337K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Amarillo metro area would have about 1,017, against 1,119 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 198 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Amarillo, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Amarillo metro area at 276,235 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 103,062 households. Median household income in the Amarillo metro area is $69,611, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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 Amarillo metro area scores 31 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #327 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 Amarillo 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 Amarillo metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Amarillo 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 Amarillo 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.