Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Fast food and sandwich shops in Itasca County, MN

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for fast food and sandwich shops in Itasca County, MN, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #524 of 2,222 scored counties
#32 of 53 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
21
17 chain locations (81%)
Official establishments
20
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$67.7M
On food away from home · $3,652 a household
Spending per listing
$3.2M
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.3
15% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
45,404
+0.9% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Itasca County

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 Itasca County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 Itasca County comes to about $67.7M a year: $3,652 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.2M per shop, 6% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Itasca County has 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 17 are chain locations, or 81%, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.3, 15% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

In 2023, official counts showed 20 businesses with payroll in Itasca County classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 927 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 $494K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Itasca County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Itasca County grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Itasca County scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #524 of 2,222 scored counties and #32 of 53 scored counties in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Itasca County 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.

Fast food and sandwich shops in Itasca County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureItasca CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.310.513.3
Spending per listing$3.2M$4.1M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)927600478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,652$4,330$4,070
Median household income$68,603$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6678

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
16 → 20All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
462
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2117 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$494K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Itasca 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. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

Population and households in Itasca County

Population, 2025 estimate
45,404+0.9% since 2020
Households
18,541
Median age
47.5
Homes lived in by their owners
83%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,668 sq. mi.
People per square mile
17
Median household income
$68,603+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,664
Median home value
$225,200
Jobs located here
16,336
Daytime population
40,939Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Itasca 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 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Itasca County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Fast food and sandwich shops across Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Minnesota for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Itasca County marked.

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for fast food and sandwich shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN93215.9$7.9M+6.8%#6 of 2,222
2Chisago County, MN89167.5$6M+4.3%#19 of 2,222
3Wright County, MN89539.8$4.8M+11.1%#25 of 2,222
4Washington County, MN8610910.3$4.9M+6.9%#41 of 2,222
5Hubbard County, MN8566.7$5.6M+4.6%#52 of 2,222
6Cass County, MN8597.0$5.3M+4.2%#53 of 2,222
7Carver County, MN854611.2$4.7M+6.6%#56 of 2,222
8Isanti County, MN85169.8$4.2M+7.3%#61 of 2,222
9Scott County, MN845710.4$5M+5.1%#74 of 2,222
10Wabasha County, MN8166.6$6.2M+0.7%#103 of 2,222
32Itasca County, MN662111.3$3.2M+0.9%#524 of 2,222

Other business types in Itasca County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Itasca County, MN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 fast food and sandwich shops in Itasca County. 17 of them (81%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. 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 Itasca County, MN spend on food away from home?

About $67.7M a year, or $3,652 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.2M 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 18,541 households in Itasca County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Itasca County, MN compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?

Itasca County has 11.3 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Itasca County would have about 22, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 927 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Itasca County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Itasca County at 45,404 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,541 households. Median household income in Itasca County is $68,603, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.4%, 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. 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. Itasca County scores 66 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #524 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Itasca County. 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 Itasca County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Itasca 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 Itasca County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Run a site report See plans
Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Screening many markets at once? Talk to us

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.