Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Fast food and sandwich shops in St. Louis County, MN

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #616 of 2,222 scored counties
#36 of 53 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
97
84 chain locations (87%)
Official establishments
132
All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$326.5M
On food away from home · $3,748 a household
Spending per listing
$3.4M
10% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.1
17% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
200,518
+0.2% since 2020

See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in St. Louis 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 St. Louis County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 St. Louis County comes to about $326.5M a year: $3,748 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 97 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $3.4M per shop, 10% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.

St. Louis County has 97 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 84 are chain locations, or 87%, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.1, 17% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in St. Louis County was 132 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 660 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. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $3.1M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in St. Louis County.

Population estimates put the population change in St. Louis County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, St. Louis County has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #616 of 2,222 scored counties and #36 of 53 scored counties in Minnesota.

How St. Louis 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 St. Louis County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Louis CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.110.513.3
Spending per listing$3.4M$4.1M$3.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)660600478
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+1.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.2%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,748$4,330$4,070
Median household income$70,069$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6378

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
132 → 132All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,310
Annual payroll, 2023
$47.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
9All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9784 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
107The 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 limited-service restaurants in St. Louis 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 St. Louis County

Population, 2025 estimate
200,518+0.2% since 2020
Households
87,115
Median age
42.5
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
6,248 sq. mi.
People per square mile
32
Median household income
$70,069+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,368
Median home value
$221,400
Jobs located here
98,963
Daytime population
212,532Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in St. Louis 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 St. Louis County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 St. Louis 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
36St. Louis County, MN639711.1$3.4M+0.2%#616 of 2,222

Other business types in St. Louis County

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

Questions

How many fast food and sandwich shops are in St. Louis County, MN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 97 fast food and sandwich shops in St. Louis County. 84 of them (87%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 132 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts also show 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in St. Louis County, MN spend on food away from home?

About $326.5M a year, or $3,748 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 97 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 87,115 households in St. Louis County and national spending patterns by income.

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

St. Louis County has 11.1 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 10% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, St. Louis County would have about 107, against 97 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 660 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is St. Louis County, MN growing?

Population estimates put St. Louis County at 200,518 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 87,115 households. Median household income in St. Louis County is $70,069, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.9%, 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. 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. St. Louis County scores 63 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #616 of 2,222 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in St. Louis 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 St. Louis County

Screening a site or an acquisition in St. Louis 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 St. Louis County. 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.