Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Pizza places in Dakota County, MN

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pizza places in Dakota County, MN, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #102 of 2,090 scored counties
#7 of 59 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
123
82 chain locations (67%)
Official establishments
296
All limited-service restaurants · −1.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$825.7M
On food away from home · $4,735 a household
Spending per listing
$6.7M
32% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.1
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
457,710
+3.9% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in Dakota County

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 Dakota 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

The Groundwork market score for pizza places in Dakota County is 79 (high), #102 of 2,090 scored counties and #7 of 59 scored counties in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for pizza places.

As of September 2026, map listings count 123 pizza places in Dakota County. Chain locations make up 67% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 7.1 for every 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

At $4,735 per household (16% above the U.S. average), households in Dakota County spend about $825.7M a year on food away from home. That is about $6.7M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 32% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 296 businesses with payroll in Dakota County classed as limited-service restaurants, down 1.7% from 2019. That is one for every 589 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $8.6M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Dakota County. Population estimates put the population change in Dakota County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Dakota 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 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 Dakota County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureDakota CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.17.58.0
Spending per listing$6.7M$5.7M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)589600478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−1.7%+1.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,735$4,330$4,070
Median household income$106,318$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score7970

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
301 → 296All limited-service restaurants · −1.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,903
Annual payroll, 2023
$121M
One-person businesses, 2023
37All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12382 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
163The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
13
Amount
$8.6M

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

Population and households in Dakota County

Population, 2025 estimate
457,710+3.9% since 2020
Households
174,362
Median age
39.8
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
563 sq. mi.
People per square mile
792
Median household income
$106,318+23.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$131,265
Median home value
$381,000
Jobs located here
180,369
Daytime population
396,728Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pizza across Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Minnesota for pizza places, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Dakota County marked.

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN92205.6$8.3M+6.8%#5 of 2,090
2Carver County, MN86276.6$8M+6.6%#28 of 2,090
3Washington County, MN86757.1$7.1M+6.9%#32 of 2,090
4Scott County, MN85336.0$8.6M+5.1%#35 of 2,090
5Wright County, MN82478.7$5.4M+11.1%#62 of 2,090
6Isanti County, MN81127.4$5.5M+7.3%#73 of 2,090
7Dakota County, MN791237.1$6.7M+3.9%#102 of 2,090
8Dodge County, MN7678.7$5M+2.3%#162 of 2,090
9Goodhue County, MN75105.1$7.9M+1.3%#164 of 2,090
10Anoka County, MN751087.9$5.8M+4.7%#173 of 2,090

Other business types in Dakota County

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in Dakota County, MN?

Dakota County has 123 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. 82 of them (67%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 296 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 1.7% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Another 37 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Dakota County, MN spend on food away from home?

About $825.7M a year, or $4,735 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 123 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $6.7M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 174,362 households in Dakota County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Dakota County, MN compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

Dakota County has 7.1 pizza places per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $6.7M, 32% above the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, Dakota County would have about 163, against 123 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 589 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Dakota County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Dakota County at 457,710 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 174,362 households. The median household income in Dakota County is $106,318 a year, 32% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Dakota County scores 79 for pizza places (high), #102 of 2,090 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dakota 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 Dakota 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.