Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Albert Lea, MN area
How the Albert Lea, MN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #326 of 537 scored small-town markets
#18 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 21
- 20 chain locations (95%)
- Official establishments
- 23
- All limited-service restaurants · +4.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $47.3M
- On food away from home · $3,684 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.3M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.3
- 23% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,440
- −1.5% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Albert Lea area
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops 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 Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area spend about $47.3M a year on food away from home, or $3,684 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.3M per shop, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
The Albert Lea area has 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 95% of them, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 16.3, 23% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 23 businesses with payroll in the Albert Lea area classed as limited-service restaurants, up 4.6% from 2019. That is one for every 559 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Albert Lea area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For fast food and sandwich shops, the Albert Lea area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #326 of 537 scored small-town markets and #18 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota.
How the Albert Lea area compares
The same measures for Minnesota and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the fast food and sandwich shops 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 | Albert Lea area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.3 | 10.5 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.3M | $4.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 559 | 600 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.6% | +1.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,684 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $71,023 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 78 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 23All limited-service restaurants · +4.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 427
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2120 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 16The 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 limited-service restaurants in the Albert Lea 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. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in the Albert Lea area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,440−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 12,846
- Median age
- 45.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 707 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $71,023+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,926
- Median home value
- $171,100
- Jobs located here
- 11,051
- Daytime population
- 27,708Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Albert Lea 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 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Albert Lea area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Albert Lea area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Detroit Lakes, MN | 86 | 10 | 6.9 | $5.5M | +0.9% | #9 of 537 |
| 2Brainerd, MN | 85 | 43 | 10.2 | $3.7M | +4.3% | #11 of 537 |
| Wahpeton, ND-MN | 83 | 9 | 9.5 | $4M | 0.0% | #17 of 537 |
| 3Alexandria, MN | 81 | 20 | 11.4 | $3.4M | +2.6% | #22 of 537 |
| 4Red Wing, MN | 80 | 19 | 9.6 | $4.2M | +1.3% | #23 of 537 |
| 5Austin, MN | 80 | 17 | 10.8 | $3.5M | +2.3% | #25 of 537 |
| 6Hutchinson, MN | 79 | 12 | 7.9 | $5M | −0.3% | #28 of 537 |
| 7Fergus Falls, MN | 79 | 26 | 10.3 | $3.7M | +1.6% | #34 of 537 |
| 8Faribault-Northfield, MN | 78 | 29 | 12.3 | $3.3M | +4.2% | #41 of 537 |
| 9Grand Rapids, MN | 77 | 21 | 11.3 | $3.2M | +0.9% | #46 of 537 |
| 18Albert Lea, MN | 45 | 21 | 16.3 | $2.3M | −1.5% | #326 of 537 |
Other business types in the Albert Lea area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes65
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza62
- Coffee shops and cafes45
- Bakeries and dessert shops67
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 fast food and sandwich shops are in the Albert Lea, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 fast food and sandwich shops in the Albert Lea area. 20 of them (95%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.6% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too.
How much do households in the Albert Lea, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $47.3M a year, or $3,684 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,846 households in the Albert Lea area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Albert Lea, MN area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Albert Lea area has 16.3 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.3M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Albert Lea area would have about 16, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 559 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Albert Lea, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Albert Lea area at 30,440 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,846 households. Median household income in the Albert Lea area is $71,023, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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 Albert Lea area scores 45 for fast food and sandwich shops (lower middle), #326 of 537 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Albert Lea area. It maps the fast food and sandwich shops 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 fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in the Albert Lea area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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.