Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Texas

Restaurants and cafes in Orange County, TX

How Orange 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #883 of 2,405 scored counties
#41 of 162 scored counties in Texas

Listings
307
148 chain locations (48%)
Official establishments
121
+2.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$121.5M
On food away from home · $3,746 a household
Spending per listing
$396K
7% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
94.6
14% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
86,266
+1.8% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Orange 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 Orange 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 Orange County comes to about $121.5M a year: $3,746 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 307 restaurants and cafes, that is $396K per restaurant, 7% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Orange County has 307 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 94.6, 14% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Orange County was 121 in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. That is one for every 268 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 31 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $838K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Orange County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Orange County grew 1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Orange County scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #883 of 2,405 scored counties and #41 of 162 scored counties in Texas.

How Orange 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 Orange County, TX compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureOrange CountyTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households94.6120.5109.8
Spending per listing$396K$329K$371K
Households per official establishment268207209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.5%+12.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,746$3,970$4,070
Median household income$72,104$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score5745

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
118 → 121+2.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,093
Annual payroll, 2023
$37.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
31Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
307148 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
328The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$838K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
86,266+1.8% since 2020
Households
32,437
Median age
38.8
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
334 sq. mi.
People per square mile
256
Median household income
$72,104+21.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,821
Median home value
$173,400
Jobs located here
21,842
Daytime population
69,740Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Orange 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 Orange 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 Orange 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
41Orange County, TX5730794.6$396K+1.8%#883 of 2,405

Other business types in Orange County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 307 restaurants and cafes in Orange County. 148 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 121 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. Another 31 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $121.5M a year, or $3,746 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 307 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $396K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 32,437 households in Orange County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Orange County has 94.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $396K, 7% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Orange County would have about 328, against 307 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 268 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Orange County, TX growing?

Population estimates put Orange County at 86,266 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,437 households. Median household income in Orange County is $72,104, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.4%, 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. Orange County scores 57 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #883 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Orange 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 Orange 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.