Food and drink · County · West Virginia
Restaurants and cafes in Clay County, WV
The restaurants and cafes in Clay County, WV, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 12
- 4 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $8.4M
- On food away from home · $2,819 a household
- Spending per listing
- $698K
- 88% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 40.4
- 63% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 7,538
- −5.9% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Clay 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 Clay 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 restaurants and cafes in Clay County. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 33%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 40.4 per 10,000 households, 63% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in Clay County spend about $8.4M a year on food away from home, or $2,819 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. That works out to $698K per restaurant, 88% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Clay County in 2023. That is one for every 991 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Clay County from 2020 to 2025 at −5.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Clay County compares
The same measures for West 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 | Clay County | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 40.4 | 87.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $698K | $384K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 991 | 259 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.3% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −5.9% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,819 | $3,343 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $42,318 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3 → 3
- Employees, 2023
- 37
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $485K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 124 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 23The 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 Clay 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 Clay County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,538−5.9% since 2020
- Households
- 2,972
- Median age
- 43.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 342 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 23
- Median household income
- $42,318
- Average household income
- $58,668
- Median home value
- $109,100
- Jobs located here
- 1,537
- Daytime population
- 6,801Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Clay 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 Clay 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 West Virginia
Every West Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in West Virginia for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in West Virginia, with Clay County marked.
Top counties in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Berkeley County, WV | 83 | 365 | 71.5 | $538K | +13.7% | #94 of 2,405 |
| 2Hampshire County, WV | 78 | 43 | 49.8 | $681K | +4.4% | #167 of 2,405 |
| 3Morgan County, WV | 73 | 57 | 77.6 | $450K | +5.5% | #324 of 2,405 |
| 4Jefferson County, WV | 73 | 222 | 97.4 | $449K | +9.2% | #325 of 2,405 |
| 5Taylor County, WV | 66 | 32 | 48.5 | $689K | −2.4% | #501 of 2,405 |
| 6Putnam County, WV | 65 | 172 | 74.0 | $534K | −1.0% | #544 of 2,405 |
| 7Monroe County, WV | 64 | 21 | 45.5 | $673K | +0.8% | #584 of 2,405 |
| 8Wayne County, WV | 63 | 75 | 47.6 | $679K | −4.0% | #625 of 2,405 |
| 9Boone County, WV | 62 | 35 | 44.2 | $717K | −6.9% | #655 of 2,405 |
| 10Preston County, WV | 62 | 92 | 71.8 | $464K | −0.6% | #676 of 2,405 |
| Clay County, WV | Not scored | 12 | 40.4 | $698K | −5.9% |
Other business types in Clay 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 Clay County, WV?
There are 12 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Clay County as of September 2026. 4 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Clay County, WV spend on food away from home?
About $8.4M a year, or $2,819 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $698K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,972 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Clay County, WV compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Clay County has 40.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 63% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $698K, 88% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Clay County would have about 23, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 991 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Clay County, WV growing?
Population estimates put Clay County at 7,538 people in 2025, down 5.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,972 households. The median household income in Clay County is $42,318 a year, 48% 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 Clay 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 Clay County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay 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 Clay 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.