Food and drink · County · Washington
Restaurants and cafes in Pierce County, WA
How Pierce County, WA 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 69 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #424 of 2,405 scored counties
#8 of 35 scored counties in Washington
- Listings
- 3,055
- 1,116 chain locations (37%)
- Official establishments
- 1,512
- +8.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.6B
- On food away from home · $4,453 a household
- Spending per listing
- $512K
- 38% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 87.0
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 946,288
- +2.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Pierce 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 Pierce 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
Household spending on food away from home in Pierce County comes to about $1.6B a year: $4,453 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. Spread across 3,055 restaurants and cafes, that is $512K per restaurant, 38% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Pierce County has 3,055 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 87.0 for every 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 1,512 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Pierce County in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. That is one for every 232 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 235 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 124 SBA-backed loans worth $54.5M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Pierce County.
Population estimates put the population change in Pierce County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Pierce County scores 69 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #424 of 2,405 scored counties and #8 of 35 scored counties in Washington. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Pierce County 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.
| Measure | Pierce County | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 87.0 | 107.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $512K | $419K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 232 | 204 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.7% | +4.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.5% | +3.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,453 | $4,501 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $99,564 | $98,141 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 69 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,391 → 1,512+8.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 26,330
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $754.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 235Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3,0551,116 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4,220The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 124
- Amount
- $54.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Pierce 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 Pierce County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 946,288+2.5% since 2020
- Households
- 351,330
- Median age
- 38.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,668 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 558
- Median household income
- $99,564+38.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $124,504
- Median home value
- $526,600
- Jobs located here
- 329,848
- Daytime population
- 851,977Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Pierce 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 Pierce 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 Washington
Every Washington market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Washington for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Washington, with Pierce County marked.
Top counties in Washington
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lincoln County, WA | 82 | 33 | 68.5 | $533K | +9.7% | #111 of 2,405 |
| 2Pend Oreille County, WA | 81 | 39 | 65.6 | $551K | +7.1% | #122 of 2,405 |
| 3Douglas County, WA | 81 | 130 | 81.6 | $498K | +8.0% | #126 of 2,405 |
| 4Stevens County, WA | 80 | 127 | 65.6 | $553K | +6.6% | #139 of 2,405 |
| 5Mason County, WA | 80 | 191 | 73.4 | $545K | +7.8% | #140 of 2,405 |
| 6Clark County, WA | 77 | 1,669 | 85.1 | $518K | +5.3% | #205 of 2,405 |
| 7Skamania County, WA | 77 | 53 | 105.6 | $402K | +5.2% | #210 of 2,405 |
| 8Pierce County, WA | 69 | 3,055 | 87.0 | $512K | +2.5% | #424 of 2,405 |
| 9Snohomish County, WA | 69 | 2,970 | 93.9 | $512K | +4.9% | #425 of 2,405 |
| 10Asotin County, WA | 68 | 69 | 72.7 | $516K | +1.0% | #447 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Pierce County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes69
- Sit-down restaurants71
- Fast food and sandwich shops73
- Pizza79
- Coffee shops and cafes41
- Bakeries and dessert shops67
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 Pierce County, WA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 3,055 restaurants and cafes in Pierce County. 1,116 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,512 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. Another 235 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Pierce County, WA spend on food away from home?
About $1.6B a year, or $4,453 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,055 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $512K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 351,330 households in Pierce County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Pierce County, WA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Pierce County has 87.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $512K, 38% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Pierce County would have about 4,220, against 3,055 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 232 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Pierce County, WA growing?
Population estimates put Pierce County at 946,288 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 351,330 households. Median household income in Pierce County is $99,564, 23% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.1%, 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. Pierce County scores 69 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #424 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Pierce 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 Pierce County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Pierce 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 Pierce 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.