Food and drink · County · Montana
Restaurants and cafes in Richland County, MT
How Richland County, MT 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 27 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #2,130 of 2,405 scored counties
#17 of 21 scored counties in Montana
- Listings
- 58
- 16 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 27
- −3.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $17.4M
- On food away from home · $3,924 a household
- Spending per listing
- $299K
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 131.2
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 11,377
- −1.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Richland 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 Richland 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
For restaurants and cafes, Richland County has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #2,130 of 2,405 scored counties and #17 of 21 scored counties in Montana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on food away from home in Richland County comes to about $17.4M a year: $3,924 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $299K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 19% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
Richland County has 58 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 131.2 per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Richland County in 2023, down 3.6% from 2019. That is one for every 164 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $414K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Richland County. Population estimates show Richland County declined 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Richland 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 | Richland County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 131.2 | 114.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $299K | $329K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 164 | 200 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.6% | +6.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.3% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,924 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $73,084 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 27 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 28 → 27−3.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 416
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5816 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 47The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $414K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Richland 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 Richland County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 11,377−1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 4,422
- Median age
- 38.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 2,085 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 5
- Median household income
- $73,084+8.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $103,609
- Median home value
- $263,000
- Jobs located here
- 5,317
- Daytime population
- 10,645Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Richland 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 Richland 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 Richland 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 |
| 17Richland County, MT | 27 | 58 | 131.2 | $299K | −1.3% | #2,130 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Richland County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes27
- Sit-down restaurants29
- Fast food and sandwich shops25
- Pizza31
- Coffee shops and cafes35
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Richland County, MT?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 58 restaurants and cafes in Richland County. 16 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 3.6% from 2019. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Richland County, MT spend on food away from home?
About $17.4M a year, or $3,924 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 58 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $299K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,422 households in Richland County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Richland County, MT compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Richland County has 131.2 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $299K, 19% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Richland County would have about 47, against 58 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 164 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Richland County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Richland County at 11,377 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,422 households. Median household income in Richland County is $73,084, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 8.8%, 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. Richland County scores 27 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #2,130 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Richland 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 Richland County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Richland 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 Richland 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.