Food and drink · County · Virginia
Restaurants and cafes in Highland County, VA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Highland County, VA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 10
- 2 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $3.4M
- On food away from home · $3,365 a household
- Spending per listing
- $338K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 99.7
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,318
- +3.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Highland 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 Highland County. 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
At $3,365 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in Highland County spend about $3.4M a year on food away from home. Spread across 10 restaurants and cafes, that is $338K per restaurant, 9% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Highland County has 10 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 20%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 99.7, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for restaurants and other eating places in Highland County, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates put the population change in Highland County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Highland 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.
| Measure | Highland County | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 99.7 | 97.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $338K | $447K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 211 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,365 | $4,372 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,625 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 102 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Highland 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 Highland County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,318+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 1,003
- Median age
- 56.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 89%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 415 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 6
- Median household income
- $65,625
- Average household income
- $76,499
- Median home value
- $200,000
- Jobs located here
- 585
- Daytime population
- 2,028Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Highland 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 Highland County. 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Virginia for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Virginia, with Highland County marked.
Top counties in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Goochland County, VA | 96 | 56 | 54.1 | $930K | +17.4% | #3 of 2,405 |
| 2Fluvanna County, VA | 94 | 36 | 34.9 | $1.2M | +6.2% | #4 of 2,405 |
| 3Caroline County, VA | 93 | 63 | 52.6 | $773K | +11.3% | #9 of 2,405 |
| 4Powhatan County, VA | 92 | 59 | 52.1 | $895K | +7.0% | #11 of 2,405 |
| 5New Kent County, VA | 92 | 57 | 61.5 | $783K | +21.2% | #12 of 2,405 |
| 6Louisa County, VA | 92 | 85 | 54.6 | $745K | +13.6% | #14 of 2,405 |
| 7King George County, VA | 91 | 66 | 65.1 | $731K | +10.5% | #18 of 2,405 |
| 8Frederick County, VA | 90 | 245 | 69.2 | $636K | +8.8% | #28 of 2,405 |
| 9Stafford County, VA | 89 | 369 | 70.5 | $758K | +8.3% | #29 of 2,405 |
| 10Dinwiddie County, VA | 87 | 39 | 36.6 | $1M | +3.6% | #38 of 2,405 |
| Highland County, VA | Not scored | 10 | 99.7 | $338K | +3.4% |
Other business types in Highland County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Highland County, VA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 restaurants and cafes in Highland County. 2 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. No official count is published for restaurants and other eating places in Highland County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Highland County, VA spend on food away from home?
About $3.4M a year, or $3,365 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $338K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,003 households in Highland County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Highland County, VA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Highland County has 99.7 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $338K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Highland County would have about 9, against 10 on map listings.
How fast is Highland County, VA growing?
Population estimates put Highland County at 2,318 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,003 households. Median household income in Highland County is $65,625, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Highland 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 Highland County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Highland 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 Highland 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.