Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Restaurants and cafes in Otter Tail County, MN

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #964 of 2,405 scored counties
#50 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
231
63 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
104
+9.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$95.2M
On food away from home · $3,783 a household
Spending per listing
$412K
11% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
91.8
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
61,041
+1.6% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

Household spending on food away from home in Otter Tail County comes to about $95.2M a year: $3,783 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $412K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 11% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Otter Tail County has 231 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 63 are chain locations, or 27%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 91.8 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 104 businesses with payroll in Otter Tail County classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 9.5% from 2019. That is one for every 242 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 19 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $1.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Otter Tail County.

Population estimates show Otter Tail County grew 1.6% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Otter Tail County scores 55 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #964 of 2,405 scored counties and #50 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota.

How Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureOtter Tail CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households91.884.5109.8
Spending per listing$412K$512K$371K
Households per official establishment242260209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.5%+2.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,783$4,330$4,070
Median household income$72,255$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score5584

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
95 → 104+9.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,296
Annual payroll, 2023
$28.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
19Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
23163 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
257The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
8
Amount
$1.9M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
61,041+1.6% since 2020
Households
25,157
Median age
45.9
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,972 sq. mi.
People per square mile
31
Median household income
$72,255+23.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,523
Median home value
$273,000
Jobs located here
23,068
Daytime population
55,886Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Otter Tail 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
50Otter Tail County, MN5523191.8$412K+1.6%#964 of 2,405

Other business types in Otter Tail County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Otter Tail County, MN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 231 restaurants and cafes in Otter Tail County. 63 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 104 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 9.5% from 2019. Another 19 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $95.2M a year, or $3,783 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 231 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $412K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 25,157 households in Otter Tail County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Otter Tail County has 91.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $412K, 11% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Otter Tail County would have about 257, against 231 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 242 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Otter Tail County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Otter Tail County at 61,041 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 25,157 households. Median household income in Otter Tail County is $72,255, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.1%, 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. 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. Otter Tail County scores 55 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #964 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail 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.