Food and drink · County · Montana
Restaurants and cafes in Stillwater County, MT
The restaurants and cafes in Stillwater 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
- 39
- 8 chain locations (21%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.7M
- On food away from home · $4,131 a household
- Spending per listing
- $404K
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 102.4
- 7% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,445
- +5.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Stillwater 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 Stillwater 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 39 restaurants and cafes in Stillwater County. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 21%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 102.4 per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Stillwater County comes to about $15.7M a year: $4,131 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $404K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 9% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Stillwater County was 17 in 2023. That is one for every 224 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $871K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Stillwater County.
Population estimates put the population change in Stillwater County from 2020 to 2025 at +5.0%, faster than 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 Stillwater 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 | Stillwater County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 102.4 | 114.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $404K | $329K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 224 | 200 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.0% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,131 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $84,732 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 16 → 17
- Employees, 2023
- 171
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 398 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
- 1
- Amount
- $871K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Stillwater 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 Stillwater County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 9,445+5.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,810
- Median age
- 46.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 83%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.4
- Land area
- 1,797 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 5
- Median household income
- $84,732
- Average household income
- $116,762
- Median home value
- $405,800
- Jobs located here
- 3,617
- Daytime population
- 8,838Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Stillwater 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 Stillwater 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 Stillwater 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 |
| Stillwater County, MT | Not scored | 39 | 102.4 | $404K | +5.0% |
Other business types in Stillwater 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 Stillwater County, MT?
Stillwater County has 39 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Stillwater County, MT spend on food away from home?
About $15.7M a year, or $4,131 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 39 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $404K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,810 households in Stillwater County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Stillwater County, MT compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Stillwater County has 102.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $404K, 9% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Stillwater County would have about 42, against 39 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 224 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Stillwater County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Stillwater County at 9,445 people in 2025, up 5.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,810 households. The median household income in Stillwater County is $84,732 a year, 5% above 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 Stillwater 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 Stillwater County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Stillwater 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 Stillwater 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.