Food and drink · County · Minnesota
Restaurants and cafes in Cook County, MN
The restaurants and cafes in Cook County, MN, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 50
- 4 chain locations (8%)
- Official establishments
- 22
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $10.5M
- On food away from home · $3,869 a household
- Spending per listing
- $210K
- 43% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 184.5
- 68% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,522
- −1.4% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Cook County
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 Cook County. 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 50 restaurants and cafes in Cook County. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 8%, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 184.5, 68% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Cook County comes to about $10.5M a year: $3,869 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $210K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 43% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 22 businesses with payroll in Cook County classed as restaurants and other eating places, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 123 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Cook County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cook County declined 1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Cook 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 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 | Cook County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 184.5 | 84.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $210K | $512K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 123 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +2.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,869 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,638 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 84 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 22 → 220.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 216
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 504 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 28The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Cook 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.
Population and households in Cook County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,522−1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 2,710
- Median age
- 52.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,453 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $72,638
- Average household income
- $96,178
- Median home value
- $336,200
- Jobs located here
- 2,521
- Daytime population
- 5,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Cook 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 restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Cook County. 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Minnesota for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Cook County marked.
Top counties in Minnesota
| 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 |
| Cook County, MN | Not scored | 50 | 184.5 | $210K | −1.4% |
Other business types in Cook County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Cook County, MN?
There are 50 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Cook County as of September 2026. 4 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, unchanged from 2019.
How much do households in Cook County, MN spend on food away from home?
About $10.5M a year, or $3,869 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $210K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,710 households in Cook County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cook County, MN compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Cook County has 184.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 68% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $210K, 43% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Cook County would have about 28, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 123 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Cook County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Cook County at 5,522 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,710 households. The median household income in Cook County is $72,638 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cook County. 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 Cook County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Cook 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 Cook 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.