Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Restaurants and cafes in Rock County, MN

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in Rock County, MN, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

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

Listings
31
10 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$15.5M
On food away from home · $3,847 a household
Spending per listing
$501K
35% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
76.8
30% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,524
−1.7% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Rock 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 Rock 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

Household spending on food away from home in Rock County comes to about $15.5M a year: $3,847 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 31 restaurants and cafes, that is $501K per restaurant, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

Rock County has 31 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 32% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 76.8 per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in Rock County classed as restaurants and other eating places. That is one for every 310 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $205K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Rock County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Rock County declined 1.7%, 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 Rock 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 Rock County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureRock CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households76.884.5109.8
Spending per listing$501K$512K$371K
Households per official establishment310260209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.5%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,847$4,330$4,070
Median household income$71,295$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored84

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15 → 13
Employees, 2023
179
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3110 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
42The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$205K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
9,524−1.7% since 2020
Households
4,035
Median age
41.9
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
483 sq. mi.
People per square mile
20
Median household income
$71,295
Average household income
$91,311
Median home value
$224,300
Jobs located here
3,938
Daytime population
8,459Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rock 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 Rock 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 Rock 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
Rock County, MNNot scored3176.8$501K−1.7%

Other business types in Rock 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 Rock County, MN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 31 restaurants and cafes in Rock County. 10 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

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

About $15.5M a year, or $3,847 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $501K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,035 households in Rock County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Rock County has 76.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $501K, 35% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Rock County would have about 42, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 310 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Rock County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Rock County at 9,524 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,035 households. Median household income in Rock County is $71,295, 12% 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 Rock 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 Rock County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rock 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 Rock 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.