Food and drink · Small-town market · Colorado
Restaurants and cafes in the Fort Morgan, CO area
How the Fort Morgan, CO area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #88 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado
- Listings
- 100
- 29 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 41
- −14.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $38.5M
- On food away from home · $3,480 a household
- Spending per listing
- $385K
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 90.3
- 18% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,306
- +4.2% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Fort Morgan area
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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 Fort Morgan 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 100 restaurants and cafes in the Fort Morgan area. 29 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 90.3 for every 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Fort Morgan area comes to about $38.5M a year: $3,480 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $385K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 4% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 41 businesses with payroll in the Fort Morgan area classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 14.6% from 2019. That is one for every 270 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 17 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $371K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Fort Morgan area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Morgan area grew 4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Fort Morgan area is 69 (upper middle), #88 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Fort Morgan area compares
The same measures for Colorado and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes 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 | Fort Morgan area | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 90.3 | 113.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $385K | $391K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 270 | 204 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −14.6% | +5.6% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,480 | $4,421 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $73,278 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 69 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 41−14.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 619
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 17Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10029 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 104The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $371K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Fort Morgan 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.
Population and households in the Fort Morgan area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,306+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 11,069
- Median age
- 38.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,281 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 23
- Median household income
- $73,278+36.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,230
- Median home value
- $338,600
- Jobs located here
- 12,665
- Daytime population
- 25,925Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Morgan 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 restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Fort Morgan area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Colorado for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Fort Morgan area marked.
Top small-town markets in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fort Morgan, CO | 69 | 100 | 90.3 | $385K | +4.2% | #88 of 538 |
| 2Cañon City, CO | 61 | 160 | 89.0 | $382K | +2.4% | #160 of 538 |
| 3Montrose, CO | 60 | 185 | 102.4 | $353K | +4.1% | #171 of 538 |
| 4Sterling, CO | 43 | 71 | 86.6 | $371K | −2.7% | #341 of 538 |
| 5Durango, CO | 40 | 349 | 143.2 | $288K | +2.2% | #378 of 538 |
| 6Steamboat Springs, CO | 35 | 281 | 168.6 | $260K | +0.9% | #419 of 538 |
| 7Alamosa, CO | 34 | 126 | 109.9 | $284K | +2.1% | #431 of 538 |
| 8Rifle, CO | 34 | 604 | 185.2 | $234K | +1.2% | #433 of 538 |
| 9Breckenridge, CO | 32 | 479 | 307.7 | $155K | +1.1% | #449 of 538 |
| 10Edwards, CO | 24 | 474 | 214.9 | $218K | −2.4% | #494 of 538 |
Other business types in the Fort Morgan area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes69
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops77
- Pizza77
- Coffee shops and cafes51
- Bakeries and dessert shops72
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 restaurants and cafes are in the Fort Morgan, CO area?
There are 100 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Fort Morgan area as of September 2026. 29 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 41 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 14.6% from 2019. Another 17 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Fort Morgan, CO area spend on food away from home?
About $38.5M a year, or $3,480 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 100 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $385K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,069 households in the Fort Morgan area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Morgan, CO area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Fort Morgan area has 90.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $385K, 4% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Fort Morgan area would have about 104, against 100 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 270 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 14.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Morgan, CO area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Morgan area at 30,306 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,069 households. The median household income in the Fort Morgan area is $73,278 a year, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.5% 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. 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 Fort Morgan area scores 69 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #88 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Morgan area. It maps the restaurants and cafes 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 restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in the Fort Morgan area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Morgan 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 Fort Morgan 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.