Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Montana

Restaurants and cafes in Powell County, MT

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

Groundwork market score

Not scored

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

Listings
34
12 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$8.3M
On food away from home · $3,416 a household
Spending per listing
$244K
34% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
139.8
27% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,157
+3.1% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Powell 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 Powell 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 34 restaurants and cafes in Powell County. 12 of them (35%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 139.8 per 10,000 households, 27% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in Powell County spend about $8.3M a year on food away from home, or $3,416 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That is about $244K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 34% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Powell County in 2023. That is one for every 221 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Powell County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Powell 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Powell County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasurePowell CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households139.8114.0109.8
Spending per listing$244K$329K$371K
Households per official establishment221200209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.2%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.1%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,416$3,748$4,070
Median household income$66,923$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored30

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12 → 11
Employees, 2023
124
Annual payroll, 2023
$2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The 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 Powell 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 Powell County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,157+3.1% since 2020
Households
2,432
Median age
46.3
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
2,326 sq. mi.
People per square mile
3
Median household income
$66,923
Average household income
$86,677
Median home value
$306,500
Jobs located here
2,370
Daytime population
6,987Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants 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 Powell County marked.

Top counties in Montana

Counties in Montana ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jefferson County, MT853570.1$623K+9.8%#62 of 2,405
2Ravalli County, MT6617493.2$390K+9.4%#527 of 2,405
3Lewis and Clark County, MT6229393.9$418K+5.8%#688 of 2,405
4Yellowstone County, MT5468598.0$397K+4.5%#1,019 of 2,405
5Big Horn County, MT522770.6$444K−2.5%#1,086 of 2,405
6Missoula County, MT51552104.8$366K+4.4%#1,157 of 2,405
7Gallatin County, MT43731142.7$306K+7.7%#1,513 of 2,405
8Sanders County, MT4259108.2$297K+12.9%#1,556 of 2,405
9Flathead County, MT41536121.2$313K+10.1%#1,590 of 2,405
10Cascade County, MT40357100.2$356K+0.7%#1,615 of 2,405
Powell County, MTNot scored34139.8$244K+3.1%

Other business types in Powell 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 Powell County, MT?

Powell County has 34 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 12 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023.

How much do households in Powell County, MT spend on food away from home?

About $8.3M a year, or $3,416 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 34 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $244K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,432 households in Powell County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Powell County, MT compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Powell County has 139.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 27% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $244K, 34% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Powell County would have about 22, against 34 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 221 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Powell County, MT growing?

Population estimates put Powell County at 7,157 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,432 households. The median household income in Powell County is $66,923 a year, 17% 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 Powell 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 Powell County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Powell 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 Powell 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.