Food and drink · County · Montana
Restaurants and cafes in Yellowstone County, MT
The restaurants and cafes in Yellowstone County, MT, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #1,019 of 2,405 scored counties
#4 of 21 scored counties in Montana
- Listings
- 685
- 276 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 349
- +20.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $271.7M
- On food away from home · $3,888 a household
- Spending per listing
- $397K
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 98.0
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 172,692
- +4.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone 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
At $3,888 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Yellowstone County spend about $271.7M a year on food away from home. Spread across 685 restaurants and cafes, that is $397K per restaurant, 7% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Yellowstone County has 685 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 98.0 per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Official counts show 349 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Yellowstone County in 2023, up 20.8% from 2019. That is one for every 200 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 35 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $5.7M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Yellowstone County.
Population estimates put the population change in Yellowstone County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Yellowstone County scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #1,019 of 2,405 scored counties and #4 of 21 scored counties in Montana.
How Yellowstone 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 | Yellowstone County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 98.0 | 114.0 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $397K | $329K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 200 | 200 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +20.8% | +6.2% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,888 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $76,570 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 289 → 349+20.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 7,657
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $171.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 35Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 685276 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 733The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $5.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 172,692+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,897
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,633 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 64
- Median household income
- $76,570+25.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,900
- Median home value
- $349,500
- Jobs located here
- 90,871
- Daytime population
- 173,526Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone 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 |
Other business types in Yellowstone County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants65
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza58
- Coffee shops and cafes37
- Bakeries and dessert shops51
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 Yellowstone County, MT?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 685 restaurants and cafes in Yellowstone County. 276 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 349 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 20.8% from 2019. Official counts list 35 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Yellowstone County, MT spend on food away from home?
About $271.7M a year, or $3,888 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 685 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $397K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,897 households in Yellowstone County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Yellowstone County, MT compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Yellowstone County has 98.0 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $397K, 7% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Yellowstone County would have about 733, against 685 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 200 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is Yellowstone County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Yellowstone County at 172,692 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,897 households. Median household income in Yellowstone County is $76,570, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.0%, 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. Yellowstone County scores 54 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #1,019 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone 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.