Food and drink · Small-town market · Wyoming
Restaurants and cafes in the Riverton, WY area
How the Riverton, WY 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 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #385 of 538 scored small-town markets
#6 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Wyoming
- Listings
- 163
- 38 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 69
- +3.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $52.2M
- On food away from home · $3,470 a household
- Spending per listing
- $320K
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 108.4
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 39,464
- +0.7% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Riverton 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 Riverton 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
Households in the Riverton area spend about $52.2M a year on food away from home, or $3,470 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $320K per restaurant, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Riverton area has 163 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 23% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 108.4 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Riverton area was 69 in 2023, up 3.0% from 2019. That is one for every 218 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $345K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Riverton area.
Population estimates show the Riverton area grew 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Riverton area has a Groundwork market score of 39 (lower middle): #385 of 538 scored small-town markets and #6 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Wyoming.
How the Riverton area compares
The same measures for Wyoming 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 | Riverton area | Wyoming | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 108.4 | 111.1 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $320K | $343K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 218 | 219 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.0% | +3.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.7% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,470 | $3,811 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $64,904 | $76,176 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 69+3.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 987
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16338 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 141The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $345K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Riverton 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 Riverton area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 39,464+0.7% since 2020
- Households
- 15,037
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 9,184 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $64,904+16.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,945
- Median home value
- $268,800
- Jobs located here
- 15,452
- Daytime population
- 38,967Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Riverton 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 Riverton 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 Wyoming
Every Wyoming market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Wyoming for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Wyoming, with the Riverton area marked.
Top small-town markets in Wyoming
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Gillette, WY | 66 | 182 | 101.2 | $407K | +2.1% | #111 of 538 |
| 2Laramie, WY | 57 | 166 | 97.2 | $359K | +3.9% | #191 of 538 |
| 3Cody, WY | 47 | 168 | 126.0 | $293K | +5.1% | #300 of 538 |
| 4Sheridan, WY | 45 | 167 | 120.6 | $302K | +7.2% | #326 of 538 |
| 5Rock Springs, WY | 43 | 192 | 109.7 | $346K | −2.2% | #345 of 538 |
| 6Riverton, WY | 39 | 163 | 108.4 | $320K | +0.7% | #385 of 538 |
| 7Jackson, WY-ID | 39 | 308 | 212.3 | $238K | +4.2% | #388 of 538 |
| 8Evanston, WY-UT | 35 | 130 | 150.5 | $253K | +2.0% | #421 of 538 |
Other business types in the Riverton area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes39
- Sit-down restaurants40
- Fast food and sandwich shops58
- Pizza64
- Coffee shops and cafes28
- Bakeries and dessert shops46
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 Riverton, WY area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 163 restaurants and cafes in the Riverton area. 38 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 69 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Riverton, WY area spend on food away from home?
About $52.2M a year, or $3,470 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 163 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $320K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,037 households in the Riverton area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Riverton, WY area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Riverton area has 108.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $320K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Riverton area would have about 141, against 163 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 218 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Riverton, WY area growing?
Population estimates put the Riverton area at 39,464 people in 2025, up 0.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,037 households. Median household income in the Riverton area is $64,904, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.1%, 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. 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 Riverton area scores 39 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #385 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 Riverton 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 Riverton area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Riverton 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 Riverton 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.