Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota

Pizza places in the Brainerd, MN area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pizza places in the Brainerd, MN area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 67 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #102 of 520 scored small-town markets
#10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota

Listings
46
31 chain locations (67%)
Official establishments
62
All limited-service restaurants · +17.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$159.9M
On food away from home · $3,782 a household
Spending per listing
$3.5M
32% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.9
36% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
100,562
+4.3% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Brainerd area

The site report maps the pizza places 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 Brainerd area. 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 the Brainerd area comes to about $159.9M a year: $3,782 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 46 pizza places, that is $3.5M per pizza place, 32% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

There are 46 pizza places on map listings in the Brainerd area as of September 2026. 31 of them (67%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 10.9 for every 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Brainerd area in 2023, up 17.0% from 2019. That is one for every 682 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Brainerd area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brainerd area grew 4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pizza places in the Brainerd area is 67 (upper middle), #102 of 520 scored small-town markets and #10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Brainerd 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 pizza places counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Pizza in Brainerd, MN area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureBrainerd areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.97.58.0
Spending per listing$3.5M$5.7M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)682600478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+17.0%+1.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.3%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,782$4,330$4,070
Median household income$71,384$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6770

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
62All limited-service restaurants · +17.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,153
Annual payroll, 2023
$25.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4631 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
32The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Brainerd 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 pizza places.

Population and households in the Brainerd area

Population, 2025 estimate
100,562+4.3% since 2020
Households
42,276
Median age
46.9
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
3,020 sq. mi.
People per square mile
33
Median household income
$71,384+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,780
Median home value
$301,000
Jobs located here
39,612
Daytime population
95,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Brainerd 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 pizza places on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Pizza across Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for pizza places, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Brainerd area marked.

Top small-town markets in Minnesota

Small-town markets in Minnesota ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Austin, MN8395.7$6.6M+2.3%#10 of 520
2Red Wing, MN81105.1$7.9M+1.3%#18 of 520
3Faribault-Northfield, MN77187.7$5.3M+4.2%#32 of 520
4Bemidji, MN76126.6$5.6M+1.8%#37 of 520
5Grand Rapids, MN74147.6$4.8M+0.9%#50 of 520
6Fergus Falls, MN71218.3$4.5M+1.6%#70 of 520
7Detroit Lakes, MN71139.0$4.2M+0.9%#71 of 520
8Worthington, MN6956.5$5.7M+0.6%#82 of 520
Wahpeton, ND-MN6999.5$4M0.0%#86 of 520
9Alexandria, MN681810.3$3.8M+2.6%#96 of 520
10Brainerd, MN674610.9$3.5M+4.3%#102 of 520

Other business types in the Brainerd area

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Brainerd, MN area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 46 pizza places in the Brainerd area. 31 of them (67%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 17.0% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too.

How much do households in the Brainerd, MN area spend on food away from home?

About $159.9M a year, or $3,782 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 46 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $3.5M per pizza place. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 42,276 households in the Brainerd area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Brainerd, MN area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Brainerd area has 10.9 pizza places per 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $3.5M, 32% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Brainerd area would have about 32, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 682 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 17.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Brainerd, MN area growing?

Population estimates put the Brainerd area at 100,562 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,276 households. Median household income in the Brainerd area is $71,384, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, 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 Brainerd area scores 67 for pizza places (upper middle), #102 of 520 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Brainerd area. It maps the pizza places 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 pizza places · All 56 business types in the Brainerd area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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.