Food and drink · Metro area · Minnesota
Restaurants and cafes in the St. Cloud, MN metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the St. Cloud, MN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 72 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #49 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 714
- 293 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 318
- +7.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $303.9M
- On food away from home · $3,890 a household
- Spending per listing
- $426K
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 91.4
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 205,854
- +3.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro area spend about $303.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,890 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That works out to $426K per restaurant, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The St. Cloud metro area has 714 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 293 are chain locations, or 41%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 91.4 for every 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 318 businesses with payroll in the St. Cloud metro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 7.1% from 2019. That is one for every 246 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 49 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 26 SBA-backed loans worth $9.2M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the St. Cloud metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the St. Cloud metro area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the St. Cloud metro area is 72 (upper middle), #49 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the St. Cloud metro 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 | St. Cloud metro area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 91.4 | 84.5 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $426K | $512K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 246 | 260 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.1% | +2.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.0% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,890 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $76,497 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 72 | 84 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 318+7.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 6,297
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $122.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 49Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 714293 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 820The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 26
- Amount
- $9.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 205,854+3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 78,122
- Median age
- 37.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,751 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 116
- Median household income
- $76,497+23.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,113
- Median home value
- $272,800
- Jobs located here
- 101,570
- Daytime population
- 207,575Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Cloud metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 St. Cloud metro 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 metro areas 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 St. Cloud metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 85 | 12,367 | 83.7 | $552K | +2.6% | #3 of 387 |
| Fargo, ND-MN | 83 | 1,019 | 92.3 | $429K | +7.7% | #10 of 387 |
| Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 81 | 1,153 | 94.1 | $434K | +9.5% | #12 of 387 |
| 2Rochester, MN | 79 | 817 | 88.0 | $502K | +2.0% | #18 of 387 |
| 3St. Cloud, MN | 72 | 714 | 91.4 | $426K | +3.0% | #49 of 387 |
| 4Duluth, MN-WI | 65 | 1,086 | 90.2 | $418K | +0.2% | #95 of 387 |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN | 63 | 402 | 92.1 | $406K | +0.8% | #106 of 387 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 62 | 684 | 94.9 | $404K | +0.4% | #114 of 387 |
| 5Mankato, MN | 52 | 405 | 99.7 | $390K | +1.2% | #179 of 387 |
Other business types in the St. Cloud metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes72
- Sit-down restaurants73
- Fast food and sandwich shops61
- Pizza49
- Coffee shops and cafes50
- Bakeries and dessert shops73
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 St. Cloud, MN metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 714 restaurants and cafes in the St. Cloud metro area. 293 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 318 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 7.1% from 2019. Official counts list 49 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the St. Cloud, MN metro area spend on food away from home?
About $303.9M a year, or $3,890 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 714 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $426K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 78,122 households in the St. Cloud metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Cloud, MN metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The St. Cloud metro area has 91.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $426K, 15% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the St. Cloud metro area would have about 820, against 714 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 246 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the St. Cloud, MN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Cloud metro area at 205,854 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 78,122 households. Median household income in the St. Cloud metro area is $76,497, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.4%, 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. The St. Cloud metro area scores 72 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #49 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro 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.