Food and drink · Metro area · North Dakota
Restaurants and cafes in the Bismarck, ND metro area
How the Bismarck, ND metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 84 out of 100: High
Ranked #8 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 4 scored metro areas based in North Dakota
- Listings
- 490
- 194 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 222
- +22.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $232.9M
- On food away from home · $4,163 a household
- Spending per listing
- $475K
- 28% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 87.6
- 20% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 139,750
- +4.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Bismarck metro area
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 the Bismarck metro area. 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Bismarck metro area is 84 (high), #8 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 4 scored metro areas based in North Dakota. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for restaurants and cafes.
Households in the Bismarck metro area spend about $232.9M a year on food away from home, or $4,163 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That is about $475K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 28% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The Bismarck metro area has 490 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 87.6, 20% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Bismarck metro area was 222 in 2023, up 22.8% from 2019. That is one for every 252 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $12.4M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Bismarck metro area. Population estimates show the Bismarck metro area grew 4.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Bismarck metro area compares
The same measures for North Dakota 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 | Bismarck metro area | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 87.6 | 105.1 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $475K | $375K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 252 | 247 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +22.8% | +7.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +2.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,163 | $3,940 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $85,156 | $76,657 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 84 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 222+22.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,647
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $110.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 38Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 490194 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 628The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 12
- Amount
- $12.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Bismarck metro area, 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 the Bismarck metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 139,750+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 55,940
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,281 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 32
- Median household income
- $85,156+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $110,205
- Median home value
- $306,400
- Jobs located here
- 71,351
- Daytime population
- 138,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bismarck metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 the Bismarck metro area. 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 North Dakota
Every North Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Dakota for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in North Dakota, with the Bismarck metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bismarck, ND | 84 | 490 | 87.6 | $475K | +4.5% | #8 of 387 |
| 2Fargo, ND-MN | 83 | 1,019 | 92.3 | $429K | +7.7% | #10 of 387 |
| 3Grand Forks, ND-MN | 63 | 402 | 92.1 | $406K | +0.8% | #106 of 387 |
| 4Minot, ND | 44 | 344 | 108.2 | $367K | −2.4% | #231 of 387 |
Other business types in the Bismarck metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes84
- Sit-down restaurants86
- Fast food and sandwich shops81
- Pizza78
- Coffee shops and cafes43
- Bakeries and dessert shops71
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 the Bismarck, ND metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 490 restaurants and cafes in the Bismarck metro area. 194 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 222 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 22.8% from 2019. Official counts list 38 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bismarck, ND metro area spend on food away from home?
About $232.9M a year, or $4,163 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 490 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $475K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 55,940 households in the Bismarck metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bismarck, ND metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Bismarck metro area has 87.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $475K, 28% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Bismarck metro area would have about 628, against 490 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 252 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 22.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bismarck, ND metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Bismarck metro area at 139,750 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 55,940 households. Median household income in the Bismarck metro area is $85,156, 5% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.3%, 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. The Bismarck metro area scores 84 for restaurants and cafes (high), #8 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Bismarck metro area. 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 the Bismarck metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bismarck metro area?
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 the Bismarck metro area. 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.