Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Restaurants and cafes in Murray County, MN

How Murray County, MN compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
25
6 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$13.6M
On food away from home · $3,764 a household
Spending per listing
$543K
47% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
69.3
37% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,942
−2.9% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Murray 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 Murray County. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 25 restaurants and cafes in Murray County. 6 of them (24%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 69.3 per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Murray County comes to about $13.6M a year: $3,764 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That is about $543K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 47% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Murray County was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 258 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $210K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Murray County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Murray County declined 2.9%, 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 Murray 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Murray County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureMurray CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households69.384.5109.8
Spending per listing$543K$512K$371K
Households per official establishment258260209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.9%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,764$4,330$4,070
Median household income$74,033$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored84

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15 → 14
Employees, 2023
126
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
256 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
37The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$210K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Murray 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 Murray County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,942−2.9% since 2020
Households
3,609
Median age
46.3
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
705 sq. mi.
People per square mile
11
Median household income
$74,033
Average household income
$90,836
Median home value
$185,400
Jobs located here
3,012
Daytime population
7,010Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Murray 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 Murray County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants 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 Murray County marked.

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN9316847.3$983K+6.8%#7 of 2,405
2Wright County, MN9037769.8$671K+11.1%#26 of 2,405
3Isanti County, MN889658.9$693K+7.3%#34 of 2,405
4Carver County, MN8730975.0$702K+6.6%#42 of 2,405
5Anoka County, MN8689164.8$703K+4.7%#48 of 2,405
6Dodge County, MN865061.9$700K+2.3%#49 of 2,405
7Washington County, MN8678374.2$677K+6.9%#50 of 2,405
8Chisago County, MN8614869.3$646K+4.3%#51 of 2,405
9Scott County, MN8541876.0$678K+5.1%#61 of 2,405
10Clay County, MN8517164.7$614K+3.6%#63 of 2,405
Murray County, MNNot scored2569.3$543K−2.9%

Other business types in Murray County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Murray County, MN?

There are 25 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Murray County as of September 2026. 6 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

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

About $13.6M a year, or $3,764 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 25 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $543K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,609 households in Murray County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Murray County, MN compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Murray County has 69.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $543K, 47% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Murray County would have about 37, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 258 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Murray County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Murray County at 7,942 people in 2025, down 2.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,609 households. The median household income in Murray County is $74,033 a year, 8% 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 Murray 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 Murray County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Murray 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 Murray 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.