Market rankings · Minnesota

Restaurants and cafes in Minnesota

Markets across Minnesota ranked by the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 19,510; 7,204 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments: 8,869; +2.5% since 2019
Household spending a year: $10B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 84.5; 23% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $512K; 38% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #1 of 51; Market score 84 · High

A site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings around any address in Minnesota by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19,510 restaurants and cafes in Minnesota. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 84.5 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Minnesota comes to about $10B a year: $4,330 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. Spread across 19,510 restaurants and cafes, that is $512K per restaurant, 38% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Minnesota was 8,869 in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. That is one for every 260 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.0% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 623 SBA-backed loans worth $305.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Minnesota.

Among the 50 states and DC, Minnesota ranks #1 for restaurants and cafes, with a Groundwork market score of 84 (high). Of the 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area scores highest (85). Of the 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Austin area scores highest (88).

Every market in Minnesota for restaurants and cafes

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Minnesota, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Minnesota, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	85	12,367	83.7	$552K	+2.6%	#3 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN	83	1,019	92.3	$429K	+7.7%	#10 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	81	1,153	94.1	$434K	+9.5%	#12 of 387
2Rochester, MN	79	817	88.0	$502K	+2.0%	#18 of 387
3St. Cloud, MN	72	714	91.4	$426K	+3.0%	#49 of 387
4Duluth, MN-WI	65	1,086	90.2	$418K	+0.2%	#95 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN	63	402	92.1	$406K	+0.8%	#106 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN	62	684	94.9	$404K	+0.4%	#114 of 387
5Mankato, MN	52	405	99.7	$390K	+1.2%	#179 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Minnesota, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Austin, MN	88	94	59.8	$630K	+2.3%	#6 of 538
2Faribault-Northfield, MN	86	199	84.7	$482K	+4.2%	#9 of 538
3Hutchinson, MN	82	114	74.9	$527K	−0.3%	#20 of 538
4Detroit Lakes, MN	82	120	83.3	$455K	+0.9%	#23 of 538
5Willmar, MN	81	144	81.8	$473K	+2.3%	#25 of 538
6Red Wing, MN	81	171	86.7	$464K	+1.3%	#26 of 538
7Grand Rapids, MN	79	144	77.7	$470K	+0.9%	#32 of 538
8Owatonna, MN	76	131	86.5	$466K	+0.2%	#46 of 538
9Bemidji, MN	74	144	79.2	$467K	+1.8%	#55 of 538
Wahpeton, ND-MN	73	90	94.7	$404K	0.0%	#62 of 538
10Marshall, MN	72	88	87.1	$441K	+1.0%	#67 of 538
11Winona, MN	70	192	94.8	$395K	+1.8%	#81 of 538
12Worthington, MN	69	70	91.2	$404K	+0.6%	#86 of 538
13Fergus Falls, MN	68	231	91.8	$412K	+1.6%	#94 of 538
14New Ulm, MN	67	84	76.2	$477K	−1.5%	#99 of 538
15Alexandria, MN	66	172	98.2	$401K	+2.6%	#112 of 538
16Fairmont, MN	65	70	79.2	$439K	−2.8%	#119 of 538
17Albert Lea, MN	65	112	87.2	$423K	−1.5%	#122 of 538
18Brainerd, MN	57	461	109.0	$347K	+4.3%	#193 of 538

Counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN	93	168	47.3	$983K	+6.8%	#7 of 2,405
2Wright County, MN	90	377	69.8	$671K	+11.1%	#26 of 2,405
3Isanti County, MN	88	96	58.9	$693K	+7.3%	#34 of 2,405
4Carver County, MN	87	309	75.0	$702K	+6.6%	#42 of 2,405
5Anoka County, MN	86	891	64.8	$703K	+4.7%	#48 of 2,405
6Dodge County, MN	86	50	61.9	$700K	+2.3%	#49 of 2,405
7Washington County, MN	86	783	74.2	$677K	+6.9%	#50 of 2,405
8Chisago County, MN	86	148	69.3	$646K	+4.3%	#51 of 2,405
9Scott County, MN	85	418	76.0	$678K	+5.1%	#61 of 2,405
10Clay County, MN	85	171	64.7	$614K	+3.6%	#63 of 2,405
11Sibley County, MN	83	47	79.3	$500K	+3.6%	#98 of 2,405
12Dakota County, MN	82	1,223	70.1	$675K	+3.9%	#102 of 2,405
13Le Sueur County, MN	81	107	91.8	$467K	+2.9%	#129 of 2,405
14Kanabec County, MN	79	41	62.5	$593K	+3.6%	#147 of 2,405
15Benton County, MN	78	107	64.0	$599K	+0.9%	#172 of 2,405
16Carlton County, MN	78	104	73.8	$531K	+1.4%	#176 of 2,405
17Mower County, MN	77	94	59.8	$630K	+2.3%	#189 of 2,405
18Houston County, MN	76	46	56.6	$702K	−2.3%	#215 of 2,405
19Meeker County, MN	76	61	65.3	$582K	+0.7%	#218 of 2,405
20Nicollet County, MN	73	95	73.1	$561K	−0.7%	#297 of 2,405
21Todd County, MN	73	72	70.5	$501K	+3.0%	#311 of 2,405
22Rice County, MN	73	199	84.7	$482K	+4.2%	#318 of 2,405
23Cottonwood County, MN	71	32	69.1	$535K	−1.0%	#365 of 2,405
24McLeod County, MN	70	114	74.9	$527K	−0.3%	#400 of 2,405
25Pope County, MN	70	39	78.7	$487K	+0.8%	#404 of 2,405

Show all 87 counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Olmsted County, MN	68	595	88.9	$512K	+2.3%	#448 of 2,405
27Goodhue County, MN	68	171	86.7	$464K	+1.3%	#453 of 2,405
28Becker County, MN	68	120	83.3	$455K	+0.9%	#455 of 2,405
29Kandiyohi County, MN	67	144	81.8	$473K	+2.3%	#484 of 2,405
30Chippewa County, MN	65	38	74.1	$489K	−1.6%	#555 of 2,405
31Itasca County, MN	65	144	77.7	$470K	+0.9%	#562 of 2,405
32Watonwan County, MN	65	36	85.2	$445K	+2.0%	#569 of 2,405
33Steele County, MN	64	131	86.5	$466K	+0.2%	#603 of 2,405
34Pine County, MN	64	115	93.3	$391K	+5.5%	#621 of 2,405
35Hennepin County, MN	62	5,204	96.5	$481K	+0.2%	#668 of 2,405
36Beltrami County, MN	61	144	79.2	$467K	+1.8%	#712 of 2,405
37Wabasha County, MN	61	80	87.4	$465K	+0.7%	#713 of 2,405
38Polk County, MN	61	102	82.5	$459K	−1.8%	#716 of 2,405
39Redwood County, MN	60	51	81.0	$436K	−1.0%	#761 of 2,405
40Lyon County, MN	59	88	87.1	$441K	+1.0%	#799 of 2,405
41Roseau County, MN	59	58	92.1	$407K	−0.3%	#804 of 2,405
42Morrison County, MN	59	131	93.0	$397K	+1.9%	#808 of 2,405
43Pennington County, MN	58	53	85.4	$445K	−1.8%	#826 of 2,405
44St. Louis County, MN	58	762	87.5	$428K	+0.2%	#830 of 2,405
45Renville County, MN	58	55	90.8	$408K	−2.3%	#839 of 2,405
46Waseca County, MN	57	58	77.6	$487K	−1.5%	#860 of 2,405
47Brown County, MN	56	84	76.2	$477K	−1.5%	#904 of 2,405
48Winona County, MN	56	192	94.8	$395K	+1.8%	#928 of 2,405
49Ramsey County, MN	55	2,007	90.7	$461K	−1.8%	#946 of 2,405
50Otter Tail County, MN	55	231	91.8	$412K	+1.6%	#964 of 2,405
51Nobles County, MN	55	70	91.2	$404K	+0.6%	#967 of 2,405
52Stearns County, MN	55	607	98.9	$395K	+3.6%	#973 of 2,405
53Hubbard County, MN	55	85	94.8	$393K	+4.6%	#975 of 2,405
54Martin County, MN	54	70	79.2	$439K	−2.8%	#1,000 of 2,405
55Douglas County, MN	54	172	98.2	$401K	+2.6%	#1,014 of 2,405
56Koochiching County, MN	53	43	73.2	$501K	−3.7%	#1,037 of 2,405
57Freeborn County, MN	53	112	87.2	$423K	−1.5%	#1,047 of 2,405
58Faribault County, MN	52	55	90.5	$398K	−0.1%	#1,098 of 2,405
59Fillmore County, MN	51	92	105.5	$364K	+1.4%	#1,159 of 2,405
60Cass County, MN	51	133	103.3	$358K	+4.2%	#1,163 of 2,405
61Wadena County, MN	49	54	88.8	$383K	+1.9%	#1,233 of 2,405
62Mille Lacs County, MN	49	118	110.6	$339K	+4.8%	#1,250 of 2,405
63Aitkin County, MN	46	64	88.6	$380K	+3.5%	#1,355 of 2,405
64Crow Wing County, MN	45	328	111.6	$342K	+4.3%	#1,415 of 2,405
65Blue Earth County, MN	39	310	112.3	$338K	+2.1%	#1,659 of 2,405
66Lake County, MN	27	58	117.4	$318K	−1.6%	#2,126 of 2,405
Jackson County, MN	Not scored	27	61.5	$616K	−1.3%
Swift County, MN	Not scored	41	99.5	$359K	−0.4%
Stevens County, MN	Not scored	34	87.4	$445K	+0.8%
Rock County, MN	Not scored	31	76.8	$501K	−1.7%
Yellow Medicine County, MN	Not scored	45	110.6	$344K	−0.2%
Pipestone County, MN	Not scored	45	113.3	$322K	−1.7%
Marshall County, MN	Not scored	25	66.1	$554K	−2.5%
Clearwater County, MN	Not scored	26	77.9	$458K	+1.0%
Murray County, MN	Not scored	25	69.3	$543K	−2.9%
Lac qui Parle County, MN	Not scored	18	61.6	$621K	+0.2%
Wilkin County, MN	Not scored	19	71.6	$509K	−2.9%
Norman County, MN	Not scored	17	63.0	$580K	−1.6%
Grant County, MN	Not scored	19	76.3	$492K	−0.1%
Cook County, MN	Not scored	50	184.5	$210K	−1.4%
Lincoln County, MN	Not scored	22	90.0	$409K	−0.7%
Mahnomen County, MN	Not scored	18	95.5	$354K	−4.1%
Big Stone County, MN	Not scored	19	89.0	$424K	−2.0%
Kittson County, MN	Not scored	18	101.5	$384K	−3.7%
Red Lake County, MN	Not scored	16	95.8	$396K	+0.1%
Lake of the Woods County, MN	Not scored	25	137.6	$287K	0.0%
Traverse County, MN	Not scored	13	99.2	$360K	−6.8%

Markets with fewer than 5 restaurants and cafes on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Minnesota?

There are 19,510 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Minnesota as of September 2026. 7,204 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 8,869 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. Official counts list 1,217 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Minnesota spend on food away from home?

About $10B a year, or $4,330 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19,510 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $512K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,307,955 households in Minnesota and national spending patterns by income.

How does Minnesota compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Minnesota has 84.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $512K, 38% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Minnesota would have about 26,952, against 19,510 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 260 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

Which market in Minnesota has the highest market score for restaurants and cafes?

Among 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area scores highest, at 85 (high). Among 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Austin area scores highest, at 88 (high). Among 66 scored counties in Minnesota, Sherburne County scores highest, at 93 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Minnesota scores 84 for restaurants and cafes (high), #1 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Minnesota. 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.

Sit-down restaurants10,386 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops2,429 listings
Pizza1,742 listings
Coffee shops and cafes2,353 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops1,463 listings

Screening a site or an acquisition in Minnesota?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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