Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Restaurants and cafes in the New Ulm, MN area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the New Ulm, MN area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #99 of 538 scored small-town markets
#14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 84
- 30 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 42
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $40.1M
- On food away from home · $3,636 a household
- Spending per listing
- $477K
- 29% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 76.2
- 31% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 25,517
- −1.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the New Ulm 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 New Ulm 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
Households in the New Ulm area spend about $40.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,636 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That is about $477K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 29% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The New Ulm area has 84 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 30 of them (36%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 76.2 for every 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the New Ulm area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 263 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $470K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the New Ulm area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the New Ulm area declined 1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the New Ulm area is 67 (upper middle), #99 of 538 scored small-town markets and #14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the New Ulm area 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 | New Ulm area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 76.2 | 84.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $477K | $512K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 263 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +2.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,636 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $69,378 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 84 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 420.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 872
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8430 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 108The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $470K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the New Ulm 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 New Ulm area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 25,517−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 11,027
- Median age
- 42.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 611 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 42
- Median household income
- $69,378+13.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,644
- Median home value
- $191,200
- Jobs located here
- 13,020
- Daytime population
- 27,131Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the New Ulm 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 New Ulm 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the New Ulm area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| 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 |
| 14New Ulm, MN | 67 | 84 | 76.2 | $477K | −1.5% | #99 of 538 |
Other business types in the New Ulm area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes67
- Sit-down restaurants65
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza62
- Coffee shops and cafes65
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 New Ulm, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 84 restaurants and cafes in the New Ulm area. 30 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 8 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the New Ulm, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $40.1M a year, or $3,636 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 84 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $477K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,027 households in the New Ulm area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the New Ulm, MN area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The New Ulm area has 76.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $477K, 29% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the New Ulm area would have about 108, against 84 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 263 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 the New Ulm, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the New Ulm area at 25,517 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 11,027 households. Median household income in the New Ulm area is $69,378, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 13.5%, 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 New Ulm area scores 67 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #99 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 New Ulm 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 New Ulm area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the New Ulm 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 New Ulm 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.