Food and drink · County · Montana
Restaurants and cafes in Carter County, MT
The restaurants and cafes in Carter County, MT, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $1.8M
- On food away from home · $3,070 a household
- Spending per listing
- $368K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 83.3
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,383
- −1.6% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Carter 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 Carter County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 5 restaurants and cafes in Carter County. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 34% across the U.S. That is 83.3 per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Carter County comes to about $1.8M a year: $3,070 per household, 25% below the U.S. average. That works out to $368K per restaurant, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Carter County: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Population estimates show Carter County declined 1.6% from 2020 to 2025, 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 Carter County compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Carter County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 83.3 | 114.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $368K | $329K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 200 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,070 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $54,167 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 51 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Carter 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 Carter County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,383−1.6% since 2020
- Households
- 600
- Median age
- 57.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.6
- Land area
- 3,341 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 0
- Median household income
- $54,167
- Average household income
- $67,789
- Median home value
- $199,200
- Jobs located here
- 290
- Daytime population
- 1,228Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Carter 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 Carter County. 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Montana for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Montana, with Carter County marked.
Top counties in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson County, MT | 85 | 35 | 70.1 | $623K | +9.8% | #62 of 2,405 |
| 2Ravalli County, MT | 66 | 174 | 93.2 | $390K | +9.4% | #527 of 2,405 |
| 3Lewis and Clark County, MT | 62 | 293 | 93.9 | $418K | +5.8% | #688 of 2,405 |
| 4Yellowstone County, MT | 54 | 685 | 98.0 | $397K | +4.5% | #1,019 of 2,405 |
| 5Big Horn County, MT | 52 | 27 | 70.6 | $444K | −2.5% | #1,086 of 2,405 |
| 6Missoula County, MT | 51 | 552 | 104.8 | $366K | +4.4% | #1,157 of 2,405 |
| 7Gallatin County, MT | 43 | 731 | 142.7 | $306K | +7.7% | #1,513 of 2,405 |
| 8Sanders County, MT | 42 | 59 | 108.2 | $297K | +12.9% | #1,556 of 2,405 |
| 9Flathead County, MT | 41 | 536 | 121.2 | $313K | +10.1% | #1,590 of 2,405 |
| 10Cascade County, MT | 40 | 357 | 100.2 | $356K | +0.7% | #1,615 of 2,405 |
| Carter County, MT | Not scored | 5 | 83.3 | $368K | −1.6% |
Other business types in Carter County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Carter County, MT?
Carter County has 5 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. No official count is published for restaurants and other eating places in Carter County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Carter County, MT spend on food away from home?
About $1.8M a year, or $3,070 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $368K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 600 households in Carter County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Carter County, MT compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Carter County has 83.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $368K, in line with the U.S. figure of $371K. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending.
How fast is Carter County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Carter County at 1,383 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 600 households. The median household income in Carter County is $54,167 a year, 33% 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 Carter 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 Carter County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Carter 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 Carter 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.