Food and drink · County · Wisconsin
Restaurants and cafes in Forest County, WI
The restaurants and cafes in Forest County, WI, 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
- 73
- 3 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $13.6M
- On food away from home · $3,384 a household
- Spending per listing
- $186K
- 50% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 182.2
- 66% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,574
- +4.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Forest 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 Forest 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 73 restaurants and cafes in Forest County. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 4%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 182.2, 66% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Households in Forest County spend about $13.6M a year on food away from home, or $3,384 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $186K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 50% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Forest County in 2023. That is one for every 236 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $248K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Forest County.
Population estimates put the population change in Forest County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Forest County compares
The same measures for Wisconsin 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 | Forest County | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 182.2 | 106.3 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $186K | $373K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 236 | 242 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,384 | $3,959 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $61,071 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15 → 17
- Employees, 2023
- 99
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 733 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 37The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $248K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Forest 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 Forest County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 9,574+4.4% since 2020
- Households
- 4,006
- Median age
- 48.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,014 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 9
- Median household income
- $61,071
- Average household income
- $77,601
- Median home value
- $185,000
- Jobs located here
- 3,301
- Daytime population
- 8,665Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Forest 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 Forest 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 Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Wisconsin for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Wisconsin, with Forest County marked.
Top counties in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Calumet County, WI | 84 | 132 | 61.8 | $681K | +2.9% | #67 of 2,405 |
| 2Washington County, WI | 75 | 442 | 77.4 | $566K | +1.8% | #237 of 2,405 |
| 3St. Croix County, WI | 73 | 355 | 94.6 | $491K | +4.7% | #316 of 2,405 |
| 4Waukesha County, WI | 72 | 1,549 | 91.8 | $518K | +2.4% | #338 of 2,405 |
| 5Pierce County, WI | 70 | 163 | 102.7 | $417K | +3.1% | #415 of 2,405 |
| 6Vernon County, WI | 69 | 101 | 81.3 | $458K | +2.4% | #438 of 2,405 |
| 7Dane County, WI | 67 | 2,496 | 99.2 | $441K | +4.9% | #492 of 2,405 |
| 8Ozaukee County, WI | 64 | 384 | 100.2 | $462K | +3.0% | #604 of 2,405 |
| 9Iowa County, WI | 63 | 98 | 96.9 | $416K | +1.0% | #645 of 2,405 |
| 10Racine County, WI | 62 | 722 | 89.8 | $441K | +0.4% | #679 of 2,405 |
| Forest County, WI | Not scored | 73 | 182.2 | $186K | +4.4% |
Other business types in Forest 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 Forest County, WI?
There are 73 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Forest County as of September 2026. 3 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Forest County, WI spend on food away from home?
About $13.6M a year, or $3,384 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 73 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $186K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,006 households in Forest County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Forest County, WI compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Forest County has 182.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 66% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $186K, 50% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Forest County would have about 37, against 73 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.
How fast is Forest County, WI growing?
Population estimates put Forest County at 9,574 people in 2025, up 4.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 4,006 households. The median household income in Forest County is $61,071 a year, 24% 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 Forest 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 Forest County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Forest 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 Forest 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.