Food and drink · Metro area · Virginia
Restaurants and cafes in the Roanoke, VA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Roanoke, VA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #191 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 1,195
- 474 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 557
- −0.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $477.3M
- On food away from home · $3,629 a household
- Spending per listing
- $399K
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 90.9
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 316,547
- +0.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Roanoke metro 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 Roanoke metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 1,195 restaurants and cafes in the Roanoke metro area. Of those, 474 are chain locations, or 40%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 90.9 per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Roanoke metro area comes to about $477.3M a year: $3,629 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 1,195 restaurants and cafes, that is $399K per restaurant, 8% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 557 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Roanoke metro area in 2023, down 0.4% from 2019. That is one for every 236 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 101 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $11.8M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Roanoke metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Roanoke metro area grew 0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Roanoke metro area scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #191 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Roanoke metro area 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 | Roanoke metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 90.9 | 97.9 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $399K | $447K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 236 | 211 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −0.4% | +4.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,629 | $4,372 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,761 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 557−0.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 10,702
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $232.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 101Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,195474 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,287The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $11.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Roanoke metro 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 Roanoke metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 316,547+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 131,510
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,868 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 169
- Median household income
- $68,761+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $94,709
- Median home value
- $251,400
- Jobs located here
- 158,052
- Daytime population
- 332,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Roanoke metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Roanoke metro 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Roanoke metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Richmond, VA | 75 | 5,084 | 95.3 | $438K | +5.5% | #37 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 71 | 25,241 | 106.4 | $483K | +3.3% | #50 of 387 |
| 2Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 69 | 446 | 85.4 | $423K | +3.2% | #64 of 387 |
| 3Winchester, VA-WV | 63 | 575 | 103.6 | $392K | +6.5% | #110 of 387 |
| 4Lynchburg, VA | 55 | 942 | 91.1 | $389K | +2.9% | #156 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 54 | 1,082 | 82.6 | $399K | +2.3% | #160 of 387 |
| 5Roanoke, VA | 50 | 1,195 | 90.9 | $399K | +0.4% | #191 of 387 |
| 6Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 48 | 7,088 | 100.2 | $401K | +0.9% | #202 of 387 |
| 7Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 47 | 648 | 92.2 | $389K | −0.1% | #208 of 387 |
| 8Charlottesville, VA | 45 | 1,121 | 123.9 | $352K | +3.1% | #223 of 387 |
Other business types in the Roanoke metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes50
- Sit-down restaurants36
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza41
- Coffee shops and cafes63
- Bakeries and dessert shops59
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 Roanoke, VA metro area?
The Roanoke metro area has 1,195 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 474 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 557 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 0.4% from 2019. Official counts list 101 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Roanoke, VA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $477.3M a year, or $3,629 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,195 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $399K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 131,510 households in the Roanoke metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Roanoke, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Roanoke metro area has 90.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $399K, 8% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Roanoke metro area would have about 1,287, against 1,195 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 236 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Roanoke, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Roanoke metro area at 316,547 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 131,510 households. The median household income in the Roanoke metro area is $68,761 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.5% 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. 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 Roanoke metro area scores 50 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #191 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Roanoke metro 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 Roanoke metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Roanoke metro 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 Roanoke metro 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.