Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Washington

Restaurants and cafes in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area

How the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #253 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 11 scored metro areas based in Washington

Listings
608
185 chain locations (30%)
Official establishments
282
+1.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$217.4M
On food away from home · $4,155 a household
Spending per listing
$358K
4% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
116.2
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
132,975
+2.4% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 608 restaurants and cafes in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area. Of those, 185 are chain locations, or 30%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 116.2 for every 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area spend about $217.4M a year on food away from home, or $4,155 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. Spread across 608 restaurants and cafes, that is $358K per restaurant, 4% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area was 282 in 2023, up 1.8% from 2019. That is one for every 186 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 35 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 20 SBA-backed loans worth $7.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area grew 2.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area is 41 (lower middle), #253 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 11 scored metro areas based in Washington.

How the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area compares

The same measures for Washington 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area compared with Washington and the U.S.
MeasureMount Vernon-Anacortes metro areaWashingtonU.S.
Listings per 10k households116.2107.4109.8
Spending per listing$358K$419K$371K
Households per official establishment186204209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+1.8%+4.8%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.4%+3.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,155$4,501$4,070
Median household income$89,263$98,141$80,734
Groundwork market score4170

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
282+1.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,274
Annual payroll, 2023
$125.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
35Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
608185 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
586The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
20
Amount
$7.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
132,975+2.4% since 2020
Households
52,329
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
1,730 sq. mi.
People per square mile
76
Median household income
$89,263+33.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$111,733
Median home value
$545,100
Jobs located here
49,731
Daytime population
119,306Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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.

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Restaurants and cafes across Washington

Every Washington market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Washington for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Washington (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Washington

Metro areas in Washington ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA781,05188.4$484K+2.8%#23 of 387
2Longview-Kelso, WA7336984.0$450K+3.5%#41 of 387
3Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA711,03695.5$478K+2.7%#51 of 387
4Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA6618,327113.9$433K+3.3%#85 of 387
5Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA652,16691.1$426K+3.5%#92 of 387
Lewiston, ID-WA6323186.3$427K+1.5%#104 of 387
6Bellingham, WA54988105.1$383K+3.9%#163 of 387
7Kennewick-Richland, WA531,234114.3$365K+6.5%#174 of 387
8Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA41608116.2$358K+2.4%#253 of 387
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA3813,193130.6$341K+1.0%#277 of 387

Other business types in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area

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

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area?

There are 608 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area as of September 2026. 185 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 282 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 1.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 35 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $217.4M a year, or $4,155 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 608 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $358K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 52,329 households in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area has 116.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $358K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area would have about 586, against 608 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 186 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area at 132,975 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 52,329 households. The median household income in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area is $89,263 a year, 11% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.2% 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area scores 41 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #253 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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.