Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Virginia

Restaurants and cafes in Gloucester County, VA

The restaurants and cafes in Gloucester County, VA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #233 of 2,405 scored counties
#30 of 115 scored counties in Virginia

Listings
101
48 chain locations (48%)
Official establishments
61
+17.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$61.2M
On food away from home · $4,009 a household
Spending per listing
$606K
64% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
66.1
40% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
40,097
+3.6% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Gloucester 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 Gloucester 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

Gloucester County scores 75 (high) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #233 of 2,405 scored counties and #30 of 115 scored counties in Virginia. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for restaurants and cafes.

Households in Gloucester County spend about $61.2M a year on food away from home, or $4,009 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $606K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 64% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Gloucester County has 101 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 66.1 for every 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 61 businesses with payroll in Gloucester County classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 17.3% from 2019. That is one for every 250 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $141K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Gloucester County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Gloucester County grew 3.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Gloucester County compares

The same measures for Virginia 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 Gloucester County, VA compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureGloucester CountyVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households66.197.9109.8
Spending per listing$606K$447K$371K
Households per official establishment250211209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+17.3%+4.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.6%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,009$4,372$4,070
Median household income$84,306$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score7571

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
52 → 61+17.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,131
Annual payroll, 2023
$25M
One-person businesses, 2023
6Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10148 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
165The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$141K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
40,097+3.6% since 2020
Households
15,274
Median age
44.9
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
218 sq. mi.
People per square mile
181
Median household income
$84,306+19.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$104,513
Median home value
$331,000
Jobs located here
9,415
Daytime population
32,479Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

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

Top counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Goochland County, VA965654.1$930K+17.4%#3 of 2,405
2Fluvanna County, VA943634.9$1.2M+6.2%#4 of 2,405
3Caroline County, VA936352.6$773K+11.3%#9 of 2,405
4Powhatan County, VA925952.1$895K+7.0%#11 of 2,405
5New Kent County, VA925761.5$783K+21.2%#12 of 2,405
6Louisa County, VA928554.6$745K+13.6%#14 of 2,405
7King George County, VA916665.1$731K+10.5%#18 of 2,405
8Frederick County, VA9024569.2$636K+8.8%#28 of 2,405
9Stafford County, VA8936970.5$758K+8.3%#29 of 2,405
10Dinwiddie County, VA873936.6$1M+3.6%#38 of 2,405
30Gloucester County, VA7510166.1$606K+3.6%#233 of 2,405

Other business types in Gloucester County

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Gloucester County, VA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 101 restaurants and cafes in Gloucester County. 48 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 61 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 17.3% from 2019. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Gloucester County, VA spend on food away from home?

About $61.2M a year, or $4,009 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 101 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $606K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,274 households in Gloucester County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Gloucester County, VA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Gloucester County has 66.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $606K, 64% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Gloucester County would have about 165, against 101 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 250 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 17.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Gloucester County, VA growing?

Population estimates put Gloucester County at 40,097 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,274 households. Median household income in Gloucester County is $84,306, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.5%, 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. Gloucester County scores 75 for restaurants and cafes (high), #233 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Gloucester 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 Gloucester 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.