Food and drink · Small-town market · Wisconsin
Restaurants and cafes in the Rice Lake, WI area
How the Rice Lake, WI area compares with other small-town markets 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 #369 of 538 scored small-town markets
#11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 227
- 58 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 83
- +9.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $71.2M
- On food away from home · $3,569 a household
- Spending per listing
- $314K
- 15% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 113.8
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 46,484
- −0.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Rice Lake area comes to about $71.2M a year: $3,569 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That is about $314K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 15% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
There are 227 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Rice Lake area as of September 2026. 58 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 113.8, 4% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 83 businesses with payroll in the Rice Lake area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 9.2% from 2019. That is one for every 240 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $3.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Rice Lake area.
Population estimates show the Rice Lake area declined 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Rice Lake area is 41 (lower middle), #369 of 538 scored small-town markets and #11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin.
How the Rice Lake area 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 | Rice Lake area | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 113.8 | 106.3 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $314K | $373K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 240 | 242 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +9.2% | +4.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.5% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,569 | $3,959 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,933 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 83+9.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,162
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $22M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 22758 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 192The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $3.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 46,484−0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 19,955
- Median age
- 45.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 863 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 54
- Median household income
- $65,933
- Average household income
- $87,099
- Median home value
- $216,600
- Jobs located here
- 20,886
- Daytime population
- 44,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake 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 Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Wisconsin for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Rice Lake area marked.
Top small-town markets in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Beaver Dam, WI | 76 | 321 | 89.4 | $424K | −0.3% | #48 of 538 |
| 2Menomonie, WI | 74 | 168 | 96.3 | $395K | +1.7% | #57 of 538 |
| 3Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI | 68 | 336 | 96.3 | $414K | +0.3% | #93 of 538 |
| 4Sparta, WI | 65 | 176 | 96.2 | $381K | +0.6% | #129 of 538 |
| 5Manitowoc, WI | 64 | 353 | 100.3 | $364K | +0.4% | #135 of 538 |
| 6Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI | 63 | 307 | 95.2 | $377K | −0.2% | #146 of 538 |
| 7Platteville, WI | 56 | 223 | 111.7 | $323K | +0.9% | #207 of 538 |
| 8Stevens Point-Plover, WI | 48 | 357 | 120.3 | $320K | +2.2% | #281 of 538 |
| 9Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI | 43 | 558 | 129.5 | $318K | +0.8% | #349 of 538 |
| Iron Mountain, MI-WI | 42 | 143 | 101.4 | $343K | +0.4% | #353 of 538 |
| 11Rice Lake, WI | 41 | 227 | 113.8 | $314K | −0.5% | #369 of 538 |
Other business types in the Rice Lake area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes41
- Sit-down restaurants42
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza66
- Coffee shops and cafes44
- Bakeries and dessert shops43
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 Rice Lake, WI area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 227 restaurants and cafes in the Rice Lake area. 58 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 83 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 9.2% from 2019. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Rice Lake, WI area spend on food away from home?
About $71.2M a year, or $3,569 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 227 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $314K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,955 households in the Rice Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Rice Lake, WI area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Rice Lake area has 113.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $314K, 15% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Rice Lake area would have about 192, against 227 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 240 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Rice Lake, WI area growing?
Population estimates put the Rice Lake area at 46,484 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,955 households. Median household income in the Rice Lake area is $65,933, 18% 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. 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 Rice Lake area scores 41 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #369 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 Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake 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.