Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Texas

Restaurants and cafes in Lubbock County, TX

How Lubbock County, TX compares with other counties 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 #1,662 of 2,405 scored counties
#96 of 162 scored counties in Texas

Listings
1,358
665 chain locations (49%)
Official establishments
630
+11.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$446.5M
On food away from home · $3,537 a household
Spending per listing
$329K
11% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
107.6
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
328,906
+5.6% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Lubbock 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 Lubbock 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

Household spending on food away from home in Lubbock County comes to about $446.5M a year: $3,537 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Spread across 1,358 restaurants and cafes, that is $329K per restaurant, 11% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Lubbock County has 1,358 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 49% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 107.6, 2% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Official counts show 630 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lubbock County in 2023, up 11.3% from 2019. That is one for every 200 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 96 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 28 SBA-backed loans worth $16.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Lubbock County.

Population estimates show Lubbock County grew 5.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, Lubbock County has a Groundwork market score of 39 (lower middle): #1,662 of 2,405 scored counties and #96 of 162 scored counties in Texas.

How Lubbock County 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 Lubbock County, TX compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureLubbock CountyTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households107.6120.5109.8
Spending per listing$329K$329K$371K
Households per official establishment200207209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+11.3%+12.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,537$3,970$4,070
Median household income$64,155$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score3945

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
566 → 630+11.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
16,289
Annual payroll, 2023
$321.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
96Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,358665 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,204The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
28
Amount
$16.9M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
328,906+5.6% since 2020
Households
126,225
Median age
34.2
Homes lived in by their owners
56%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
896 sq. mi.
People per square mile
356
Median household income
$64,155+22.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,750
Median home value
$214,100
Jobs located here
164,092
Daytime population
331,188Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lubbock 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 Lubbock County. 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 counties in Texas for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Texas, with Lubbock County marked.

Top counties in Texas

Counties in Texas ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Guadalupe County, TX8653381.5$516K+15.8%#54 of 2,405
2Clay County, TX843172.3$534K+5.0%#78 of 2,405
3San Jacinto County, TX835651.5$666K+7.1%#85 of 2,405
4Wilson County, TX7915585.2$497K+12.2%#158 of 2,405
5Waller County, TX7918399.8$412K+21.9%#162 of 2,405
6Parker County, TX7851090.4$504K+23.5%#179 of 2,405
7Wise County, TX7525199.9$422K+21.5%#251 of 2,405
8Williamson County, TX742,51699.7$478K+22.3%#273 of 2,405
9Fannin County, TX7411791.6$404K+9.2%#282 of 2,405
10Randall County, TX7347383.3$477K+7.9%#319 of 2,405
96Lubbock County, TX391,358107.6$329K+5.6%#1,662 of 2,405

Other business types in Lubbock County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Lubbock County, TX?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,358 restaurants and cafes in Lubbock County. 665 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 630 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 11.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 96 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Lubbock County, TX spend on food away from home?

About $446.5M a year, or $3,537 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,358 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $329K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 126,225 households in Lubbock County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lubbock County, TX compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Lubbock County has 107.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $329K, 11% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Lubbock County would have about 1,204, against 1,358 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 200 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Lubbock County, TX growing?

Population estimates put Lubbock County at 328,906 people in 2025, up 5.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 126,225 households. Median household income in Lubbock County is $64,155, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.4%, 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. Lubbock County scores 39 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #1,662 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lubbock 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 Lubbock 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.