Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Alexandria, MN area
How the Alexandria, 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 81 out of 100: High
Ranked #22 of 537 scored small-town markets
#3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 20
- 19 chain locations (95%)
- Official establishments
- 27
- All limited-service restaurants · +8.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $69M
- On food away from home · $3,938 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.4
- 14% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 40,120
- +2.6% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria 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
For fast food and sandwich shops, the Alexandria area has a Groundwork market score of 81 (high): #22 of 537 scored small-town markets and #3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for fast food and sandwich shops.
Households in the Alexandria area spend about $69M a year on food away from home, or $3,938 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 13% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
There are 20 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings in the Alexandria area as of September 2026. 19 of them (95%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.4, 14% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Alexandria area in 2023, up 8.0% from 2019. That is one for every 649 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $108K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Alexandria area. Population estimates put the population change in the Alexandria area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Alexandria 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 | Alexandria area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.4 | 10.5 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $4.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 649 | 600 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.0% | +1.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,938 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $79,043 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 81 | 78 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 27All limited-service restaurants · +8.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 494
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2019 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
- 1
- Amount
- $108K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 40,120+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 17,519
- Median age
- 44.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 637 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 62
- Median household income
- $79,043+23.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $101,237
- Median home value
- $321,400
- Jobs located here
- 19,394
- Daytime population
- 39,998Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria 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 Alexandria 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 |
Other business types in the Alexandria area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes66
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops81
- Pizza68
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops71
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 Alexandria, MN area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 20 fast food and sandwich shops in the Alexandria area. 19 of them (95%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 8.0% 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 Alexandria, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $69M a year, or $3,938 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 17,519 households in the Alexandria area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Alexandria, MN area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Alexandria area has 11.4 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Alexandria area would have about 23, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 649 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Alexandria, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Alexandria area at 40,120 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,519 households. Median household income in the Alexandria area is $79,043, 2% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.9%, 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 Alexandria area scores 81 for fast food and sandwich shops (high), #22 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 Alexandria 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 Alexandria area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alexandria 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 Alexandria 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.