Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Colorado

Sit-down restaurants in the Fort Morgan, CO area

How the Fort Morgan, CO area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #156 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado

Listings
49
12 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
21
−12.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$38.5M
On food away from home · $3,480 a household
Spending per listing
$786K
18% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
44.3
28% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,306
+4.2% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Fort Morgan area

The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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 Fort Morgan area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 49 sit-down restaurants in the Fort Morgan area. Of those, 12 are chain locations, or 24%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 44.3 per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $3,480 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Morgan area spend about $38.5M a year on food away from home. That works out to $786K per restaurant, 18% above the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Fort Morgan area was 21 in 2023, down 12.5% from 2019. That is one for every 527 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in the Fort Morgan area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Fort Morgan area is 61 (upper middle), #156 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Colorado.

How the Fort Morgan area compares

The same measures for Colorado and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the sit-down restaurants counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Sit-down restaurants in Fort Morgan, CO area compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureFort Morgan areaColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households44.361.861.3
Spending per listing$786K$716K$664K
Households per official establishment527468500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−12.5%−1.7%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,480$4,421$4,070
Median household income$73,278$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market score6159

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
21−12.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
307
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
4912 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
58The 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 full-service restaurants in the Fort Morgan 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 Fort Morgan area

Population, 2025 estimate
30,306+4.2% since 2020
Households
11,069
Median age
38.3
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,281 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$73,278+36.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,230
Median home value
$338,600
Jobs located here
12,665
Daytime population
25,925Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Morgan area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Fort Morgan area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Sit-down restaurants across Colorado

Every Colorado market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Colorado for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Fort Morgan area marked.

Top small-town markets in Colorado

Small-town markets in Colorado ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fort Morgan, CO614944.3$786K+4.2%#156 of 538
2Montrose, CO599452.0$695K+4.1%#176 of 538
3Cañon City, CO577541.7$815K+2.4%#194 of 538
4Durango, CO4218274.7$552K+2.2%#354 of 538
5Sterling, CO353947.5$676K−2.7%#420 of 538
6Steamboat Springs, CO3415693.6$469K+0.9%#437 of 538
7Rifle, CO33371113.7$381K+1.2%#450 of 538
8Breckenridge, CO32254163.2$292K+1.1%#457 of 538
9Alamosa, CO276960.2$518K+2.1%#486 of 538
10Edwards, CO24287130.1$359K−2.4%#504 of 538

Other business types in the Fort Morgan area

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Fort Morgan, CO area?

The Fort Morgan area has 49 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 12 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 21 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 12.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Fort Morgan, CO area spend on food away from home?

About $38.5M a year, or $3,480 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $786K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,069 households in the Fort Morgan area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Morgan, CO area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Fort Morgan area has 44.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $786K, 18% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Fort Morgan area would have about 58, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 527 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Morgan, CO area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Morgan area at 30,306 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 11,069 households. The median household income in the Fort Morgan area is $73,278 a year, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.5% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Fort Morgan area scores 61 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #156 of 538 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Morgan area. It maps the sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · All 56 business types in the Fort Morgan area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Morgan 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 Fort Morgan 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.