Food and drink · Small-town market · Texas
Restaurants and cafes in the Bay City, TX area
How the Bay City, TX 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 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #387 of 538 scored small-town markets
#18 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas
- Listings
- 201
- 62 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 57
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $51.9M
- On food away from home · $3,359 a household
- Spending per listing
- $258K
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 130.2
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 36,463
- +0.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Bay City 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 Bay City 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 201 restaurants and cafes in the Bay City area. Chain locations make up 31% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 130.2 per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $3,359 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in the Bay City area spend about $51.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $258K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 30% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Bay City area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 271 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 42 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $799K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Bay City area.
Population estimates show the Bay City area grew 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Bay City area is 39 (lower middle), #387 of 538 scored small-town markets and #18 of 41 scored small-town markets based in Texas.
How the Bay City 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.
| Measure | Bay City area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 130.2 | 120.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $258K | $329K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 271 | 207 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +12.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,359 | $3,970 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $58,628 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 570.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 791
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $16.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 42Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 20162 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 140The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $799K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Bay City 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 Bay City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 36,463+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,439
- Median age
- 37.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,093 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $58,628+19.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,037
- Median home value
- $172,900
- Jobs located here
- 10,447
- Daytime population
- 29,261Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bay City 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 Bay City 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Texas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Bay City area marked.
Top small-town markets in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bonham, TX | 85 | 117 | 91.6 | $404K | +9.2% | #14 of 538 |
| 2Granbury, TX | 72 | 255 | 99.9 | $408K | +13.6% | #70 of 538 |
| 3Andrews, TX | 68 | 65 | 95.0 | $403K | +1.6% | #95 of 538 |
| 4Jacksonville, TX | 66 | 172 | 94.6 | $359K | +5.4% | #115 of 538 |
| 5Corsicana, TX | 64 | 191 | 100.3 | $343K | +8.2% | #136 of 538 |
| 6Huntsville, TX | 54 | 250 | 96.1 | $321K | +9.5% | #230 of 538 |
| 7Gainesville, TX | 51 | 199 | 120.4 | $319K | +6.5% | #257 of 538 |
| 8Paris, TX | 49 | 254 | 101.6 | $329K | +2.6% | #271 of 538 |
| 9Sulphur Springs, TX | 49 | 158 | 112.8 | $317K | +6.1% | #272 of 538 |
| 10Athens, TX | 48 | 365 | 108.7 | $320K | +7.5% | #282 of 538 |
| 18Bay City, TX | 39 | 201 | 130.2 | $258K | +0.5% | #387 of 538 |
Other business types in the Bay City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes39
- Sit-down restaurants27
- Fast food and sandwich shops58
- Pizza64
- Coffee shops and cafes63
- Bakeries and dessert shops47
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 Bay City, TX area?
There are 201 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Bay City area as of September 2026. 62 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 42 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bay City, TX area spend on food away from home?
About $51.9M a year, or $3,359 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 201 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $258K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,439 households in the Bay City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bay City, TX area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Bay City area has 130.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $258K, 30% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Bay City area would have about 140, against 201 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 271 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bay City, TX area growing?
Population estimates put the Bay City area at 36,463 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,439 households. The median household income in the Bay City area is $58,628 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.9% 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 Bay City area scores 39 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #387 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 Bay City 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 Bay City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bay City 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 Bay City 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.