Groundwork

Food and drink · County · South Dakota

Restaurants and cafes in Yankton County, SD

How Yankton County, SD 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 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,838 of 2,405 scored counties
#15 of 18 scored counties in South Dakota

Listings
116
39 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
47
+14.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$36.3M
On food away from home · $3,740 a household
Spending per listing
$313K
16% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
119.6
9% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
23,635
+1.5% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Yankton 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 Yankton 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

Yankton County scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #1,838 of 2,405 scored counties and #15 of 18 scored counties in South Dakota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 116 restaurants and cafes in Yankton County. Of those, 39 are chain locations, or 34%, against 34% across the U.S. That is 119.6 per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.

At $3,740 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in Yankton County spend about $36.3M a year on food away from home. Spread across 116 restaurants and cafes, that is $313K per restaurant, 16% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

In 2023, official counts showed 47 businesses with payroll in Yankton County classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 14.6% from 2019. That is one for every 206 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Yankton County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Yankton County compares

The same measures for South 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Yankton County, SD compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasureYankton CountySouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households119.6106.8109.8
Spending per listing$313K$361K$371K
Households per official establishment206232209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+14.6%+6.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,740$3,849$4,070
Median household income$72,821$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market score3556

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
41 → 47+14.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
828
Annual payroll, 2023
$15M
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
11639 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
98The 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 Yankton 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 Yankton County

Population, 2025 estimate
23,635+1.5% since 2020
Households
9,695
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
521 sq. mi.
People per square mile
45
Median household income
$72,821+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$95,237
Median home value
$225,900
Jobs located here
12,467
Daytime population
24,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Restaurants and cafes across South Dakota

Every South Dakota market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Yankton County marked.

Top counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lincoln County, SD9418265.3$694K+17.5%#6 of 2,405
2Union County, SD816791.7$471K+3.3%#128 of 2,405
3Meade County, SD759982.7$469K+2.7%#249 of 2,405
4Minnehaha County, SD55892105.2$377K+7.6%#982 of 2,405
5Brown County, SD5314387.8$425K−1.7%#1,045 of 2,405
6Oglala Lakota County, SD511965.0$431K−2.3%#1,127 of 2,405
7Beadle County, SD517396.9$369K+2.4%#1,156 of 2,405
8Hughes County, SD4977106.2$374K−0.9%#1,237 of 2,405
9Brookings County, SD49160116.0$324K+9.6%#1,252 of 2,405
10Lake County, SD4749103.9$374K−0.2%#1,314 of 2,405
15Yankton County, SD35116119.6$313K+1.5%#1,838 of 2,405

Other business types in Yankton County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Yankton County, SD?

There are 116 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Yankton County as of September 2026. 39 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 14.6% from 2019. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Yankton County, SD spend on food away from home?

About $36.3M a year, or $3,740 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 116 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $313K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,695 households in Yankton County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Yankton County, SD compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Yankton County has 119.6 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $313K, 16% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Yankton County would have about 98, against 116 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 206 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Yankton County, SD growing?

Population estimates put Yankton County at 23,635 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 9,695 households. The median household income in Yankton County is $72,821 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Yankton County scores 35 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #1,838 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Yankton 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 Yankton County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Yankton County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.