Food and drink · Small-town market · Washington
Restaurants and cafes in the Shelton, WA area
The restaurants and cafes in the Shelton, WA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 91 out of 100: Very high
Ranked #3 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington
- Listings
- 191
- 45 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 93
- +20.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $104.1M
- On food away from home · $4,001 a household
- Spending per listing
- $545K
- 47% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 73.4
- 33% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 71,165
- +7.8% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Shelton 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 Shelton 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Shelton area is 91 (very high), #3 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Washington. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for restaurants and cafes.
At $4,001 per household (2% below the U.S. average), households in the Shelton area spend about $104.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 191 restaurants and cafes, that is $545K per restaurant, 47% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Shelton area has 191 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 45 are chain locations, or 24%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 73.4, 33% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 93 businesses with payroll in the Shelton area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 20.8% from 2019. That is one for every 280 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $2M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Shelton area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Shelton area grew 7.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Shelton 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.
| Measure | Shelton area | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 73.4 | 107.4 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $545K | $419K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 280 | 204 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +20.8% | +4.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.8% | +3.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,001 | $4,501 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $83,270 | $98,141 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 91 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 93+20.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,097
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 9Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 19145 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 281The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Shelton 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 Shelton area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 71,165+7.8% since 2020
- Households
- 26,029
- Median age
- 45.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 960 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 71
- Median household income
- $83,270+44.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $100,630
- Median home value
- $411,800
- Jobs located here
- 13,833
- Daytime population
- 54,996Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Shelton area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Shelton 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 Washington
Every Washington market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Washington for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Washington, with the Shelton area marked.
Top small-town markets in Washington
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Shelton, WA | 91 | 191 | 73.4 | $545K | +7.8% | #3 of 538 |
| 2Oak Harbor, WA | 73 | 291 | 80.9 | $518K | −1.5% | #58 of 538 |
| 3Port Angeles, WA | 61 | 305 | 87.0 | $423K | +1.1% | #158 of 538 |
| 4Centralia, WA | 61 | 323 | 98.1 | $380K | +6.7% | #161 of 538 |
| 5Port Townsend, WA | 61 | 177 | 108.3 | $356K | +2.7% | #162 of 538 |
| 6Pullman, WA | 56 | 177 | 94.5 | $365K | +1.5% | #203 of 538 |
| 7Moses Lake, WA | 48 | 407 | 115.0 | $317K | +6.3% | #283 of 538 |
| 8Aberdeen, WA | 44 | 318 | 103.8 | $334K | +3.0% | #337 of 538 |
| 9Othello, WA | 41 | 74 | 117.7 | $300K | +4.3% | #370 of 538 |
| 10Ellensburg, WA | 40 | 287 | 143.6 | $272K | +4.2% | #380 of 538 |
Other business types in the Shelton area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes91
- Sit-down restaurants90
- Fast food and sandwich shops96
- Pizza94
- Coffee shops and cafes53
- Bakeries and dessert shops75
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 Shelton, WA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 191 restaurants and cafes in the Shelton area. 45 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 93 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 20.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 9 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Shelton, WA area spend on food away from home?
About $104.1M a year, or $4,001 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 191 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $545K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,029 households in the Shelton area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Shelton, WA area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Shelton area has 73.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $545K, 47% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Shelton area would have about 281, against 191 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 280 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Shelton, WA area growing?
Population estimates put the Shelton area at 71,165 people in 2025, up 7.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,029 households. Median household income in the Shelton area is $83,270, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 44.5%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Shelton area scores 91 for restaurants and cafes (very high), #3 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Shelton 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 Shelton area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Shelton 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 Shelton 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.