Market rankings · Minnesota

Sit-down restaurants in Minnesota

Markets across Minnesota ranked by the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 10,386; 3,344 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments: 3,879; −0.5% since 2019
Household spending a year: $10B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 45.0; 27% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $962K; 45% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #3 of 51; Market score 79 · High

A site report maps the sit-down restaurants on map listings around any address in Minnesota by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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 10,386 sit-down restaurants in Minnesota. Of those, 3,344 are chain locations, or 32%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 45.0, 27% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Households in Minnesota spend about $10B a year on food away from home, or $4,330 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. That works out to $962K per restaurant, 45% 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 Minnesota was 3,879 in 2023, down 0.5% from 2019. That is one for every 595 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 1.5% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 312 SBA-backed loans worth $152.2M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Minnesota.

Among the 50 states and DC, Minnesota ranks #3 for sit-down restaurants, with a Groundwork market score of 79 (high). Of the 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Sioux Falls metro area scores highest (87). Of the 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Faribault-Northfield area scores highest (86).

Every market in Minnesota for sit-down restaurants

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Minnesota, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Minnesota, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	87	568	46.4	$881K	+9.5%	#6 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN	85	510	46.2	$857K	+7.7%	#9 of 387
1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	81	6,781	45.9	$1M	+2.6%	#13 of 387
2St. Cloud, MN	73	351	44.9	$866K	+3.0%	#32 of 387
3Rochester, MN	70	421	45.3	$974K	+2.0%	#46 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN	67	192	44.0	$851K	+0.8%	#61 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN	62	325	45.1	$850K	+0.4%	#99 of 387
4Duluth, MN-WI	57	510	42.4	$890K	+0.2%	#130 of 387
5Mankato, MN	57	205	50.5	$771K	+1.2%	#133 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Minnesota, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Faribault-Northfield, MN	86	99	42.1	$969K	+4.2%	#7 of 538
2Austin, MN	84	51	32.4	$1.2M	+2.3%	#10 of 538
3Willmar, MN	82	77	43.7	$884K	+2.3%	#14 of 538
4Red Wing, MN	77	82	41.6	$967K	+1.3%	#30 of 538
5Hutchinson, MN	76	62	40.7	$970K	−0.3%	#34 of 538
6Detroit Lakes, MN	76	62	43.0	$881K	+0.9%	#37 of 538
7Owatonna, MN	73	65	42.9	$939K	+0.2%	#54 of 538
8Winona, MN	71	84	41.5	$902K	+1.8%	#65 of 538
9Marshall, MN	70	52	51.4	$746K	+1.0%	#76 of 538
Wahpeton, ND-MN	67	41	43.1	$886K	0.0%	#90 of 538
10Bemidji, MN	66	74	40.7	$908K	+1.8%	#99 of 538
11New Ulm, MN	65	41	37.2	$978K	−1.5%	#109 of 538
12Grand Rapids, MN	65	78	42.1	$868K	+0.9%	#112 of 538
13Worthington, MN	65	35	45.6	$807K	+0.6%	#113 of 538
14Fergus Falls, MN	61	117	46.5	$813K	+1.6%	#154 of 538
15Alexandria, MN	61	87	49.7	$793K	+2.6%	#155 of 538
16Albert Lea, MN	57	56	43.6	$845K	−1.5%	#192 of 538
17Fairmont, MN	53	38	43.0	$809K	−2.8%	#231 of 538
18Brainerd, MN	51	243	57.5	$658K	+4.3%	#257 of 538

Counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN	92	98	27.6	$1.7M	+6.8%	#10 of 2,405
2Carver County, MN	90	145	35.2	$1.5M	+6.6%	#20 of 2,405
3Isanti County, MN	89	44	27.0	$1.5M	+7.3%	#26 of 2,405
4Wright County, MN	89	196	36.3	$1.3M	+11.1%	#29 of 2,405
5Clay County, MN	88	80	30.3	$1.3M	+3.6%	#37 of 2,405
6Anoka County, MN	88	505	36.7	$1.2M	+4.7%	#41 of 2,405
7Scott County, MN	86	211	38.4	$1.3M	+5.1%	#52 of 2,405
8Washington County, MN	84	415	39.3	$1.3M	+6.9%	#69 of 2,405
9Dakota County, MN	82	689	39.5	$1.2M	+3.9%	#92 of 2,405
10Chisago County, MN	81	91	42.6	$1.1M	+4.3%	#115 of 2,405
11Le Sueur County, MN	81	50	42.9	$999K	+2.9%	#117 of 2,405
12Sibley County, MN	81	24	40.5	$979K	+3.6%	#119 of 2,405
13Benton County, MN	80	47	28.1	$1.4M	+0.9%	#123 of 2,405
14Dodge County, MN	79	28	34.6	$1.3M	+2.3%	#140 of 2,405
15Nicollet County, MN	75	48	36.9	$1.1M	−0.7%	#235 of 2,405
16Rice County, MN	75	99	42.1	$969K	+4.2%	#247 of 2,405
17Kanabec County, MN	74	14	21.3	$1.7M	+3.6%	#256 of 2,405
18Carlton County, MN	74	52	36.9	$1.1M	+1.4%	#267 of 2,405
19Houston County, MN	73	20	24.6	$1.6M	−2.3%	#290 of 2,405
20Mower County, MN	73	51	32.4	$1.2M	+2.3%	#294 of 2,405
21Olmsted County, MN	70	319	47.7	$955K	+2.3%	#375 of 2,405
22Kandiyohi County, MN	70	77	43.7	$884K	+2.3%	#384 of 2,405
23Meeker County, MN	68	35	37.4	$1M	+0.7%	#424 of 2,405
24Goodhue County, MN	67	82	41.6	$967K	+1.3%	#456 of 2,405
25Cottonwood County, MN	66	17	36.7	$1M	−1.0%	#481 of 2,405

Show all 87 counties

Counties in Minnesota, ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26McLeod County, MN	66	62	40.7	$970K	−0.3%	#484 of 2,405
27Morrison County, MN	65	59	41.9	$880K	+1.9%	#529 of 2,405
28Becker County, MN	64	62	43.0	$881K	+0.9%	#566 of 2,405
29Wadena County, MN	64	24	39.5	$863K	+1.9%	#569 of 2,405
30Steele County, MN	63	65	42.9	$939K	+0.2%	#612 of 2,405
31Chippewa County, MN	63	20	39.0	$929K	−1.6%	#614 of 2,405
32Hennepin County, MN	62	2,938	54.5	$852K	+0.2%	#665 of 2,405
33Winona County, MN	60	84	41.5	$902K	+1.8%	#737 of 2,405
34Todd County, MN	60	41	40.2	$881K	+3.0%	#740 of 2,405
35Pine County, MN	60	52	42.2	$864K	+5.5%	#741 of 2,405
36Stearns County, MN	60	304	49.5	$789K	+3.6%	#748 of 2,405
37Pope County, MN	58	20	40.3	$950K	+0.8%	#801 of 2,405
38Lyon County, MN	58	52	51.4	$746K	+1.0%	#828 of 2,405
39Waseca County, MN	56	26	34.8	$1.1M	−1.5%	#883 of 2,405
40Wabasha County, MN	56	38	41.5	$979K	+0.7%	#885 of 2,405
41Brown County, MN	56	41	37.2	$978K	−1.5%	#886 of 2,405
42St. Louis County, MN	56	358	41.1	$912K	+0.2%	#892 of 2,405
43Fillmore County, MN	55	36	41.3	$930K	+1.4%	#932 of 2,405
44Beltrami County, MN	55	74	40.7	$908K	+1.8%	#934 of 2,405
45Itasca County, MN	55	78	42.1	$868K	+0.9%	#937 of 2,405
46Ramsey County, MN	55	1,094	49.4	$846K	−1.8%	#940 of 2,405
47Nobles County, MN	55	35	45.6	$807K	+0.6%	#943 of 2,405
48Watonwan County, MN	54	19	44.9	$843K	+2.0%	#981 of 2,405
49Polk County, MN	53	56	45.3	$836K	−1.8%	#1,028 of 2,405
50Douglas County, MN	53	87	49.7	$793K	+2.6%	#1,033 of 2,405
51Koochiching County, MN	51	16	27.2	$1.3M	−3.7%	#1,111 of 2,405
52Otter Tail County, MN	51	117	46.5	$813K	+1.6%	#1,125 of 2,405
53Freeborn County, MN	50	56	43.6	$845K	−1.5%	#1,155 of 2,405
54Pennington County, MN	47	30	48.3	$786K	−1.8%	#1,300 of 2,405
55Faribault County, MN	46	27	44.4	$811K	−0.1%	#1,346 of 2,405
56Martin County, MN	46	38	43.0	$809K	−2.8%	#1,347 of 2,405
57Hubbard County, MN	46	48	53.5	$696K	+4.6%	#1,363 of 2,405
58Redwood County, MN	45	28	44.5	$794K	−1.0%	#1,399 of 2,405
59Roseau County, MN	45	31	49.2	$761K	−0.3%	#1,405 of 2,405
60Crow Wing County, MN	45	169	57.5	$664K	+4.3%	#1,427 of 2,405
61Blue Earth County, MN	44	157	56.9	$666K	+2.1%	#1,461 of 2,405
62Cass County, MN	41	74	57.5	$643K	+4.2%	#1,592 of 2,405
63Mille Lacs County, MN	41	63	59.0	$635K	+4.8%	#1,595 of 2,405
64Renville County, MN	40	30	49.5	$748K	−2.3%	#1,613 of 2,405
65Lake County, MN	36	25	50.6	$737K	−1.6%	#1,790 of 2,405
66Aitkin County, MN	34	38	52.6	$640K	+3.5%	#1,874 of 2,405
Jackson County, MN	Not scored	15	34.2	$1.1M	−1.3%
Swift County, MN	Not scored	22	53.4	$670K	−0.4%
Stevens County, MN	Not scored	16	41.1	$946K	+0.8%
Rock County, MN	Not scored	16	39.7	$970K	−1.7%
Yellow Medicine County, MN	Not scored	23	56.5	$673K	−0.2%
Pipestone County, MN	Not scored	21	52.9	$691K	−1.7%
Marshall County, MN	Not scored	14	37.0	$989K	−2.5%
Clearwater County, MN	Not scored	14	41.9	$851K	+1.0%
Murray County, MN	Not scored	15	41.6	$906K	−2.9%
Lac qui Parle County, MN	Not scored	7	23.9	$1.6M	+0.2%
Wilkin County, MN	Not scored	10	37.7	$966K	−2.9%
Norman County, MN	Not scored	7	25.9	$1.4M	−1.6%
Grant County, MN	Not scored	13	52.2	$719K	−0.1%
Cook County, MN	Not scored	24	88.6	$437K	−1.4%
Lincoln County, MN	Not scored	11	45.0	$818K	−0.7%
Mahnomen County, MN	Not scored	5	26.5	$1.3M	−4.1%
Big Stone County, MN	Not scored	10	46.8	$806K	−2.0%
Kittson County, MN	Not scored	6	33.8	$1.2M	−3.7%
Red Lake County, MN	Not scored	10	59.8	$633K	+0.1%
Lake of the Woods County, MN	Not scored	12	66.0	$598K	0.0%
Traverse County, MN	Not scored	6	45.8	$780K	−6.8%

Markets with fewer than 5 sit-down restaurants on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Minnesota?

Minnesota has 10,386 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 3,344 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 3,879 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 0.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 404 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Minnesota spend on food away from home?

About $10B a year, or $4,330 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10,386 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $962K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,307,955 households in Minnesota and national spending patterns by income.

How does Minnesota compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Minnesota has 45.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $962K, 45% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Minnesota would have about 15,059, against 10,386 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 595 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

Which market in Minnesota has the highest market score for sit-down restaurants?

Among 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Minnesota, the Sioux Falls metro area scores highest, at 87 (high). Among 19 scored small-town markets in or partly in Minnesota, the Faribault-Northfield area scores highest, at 86 (high). Among 66 scored counties in Minnesota, Sherburne County scores highest, at 92 (very high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Minnesota scores 79 for sit-down restaurants (high), #3 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Minnesota. 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.

Restaurants and cafes19,510 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops2,429 listings
Pizza1,742 listings
Coffee shops and cafes2,353 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops1,463 listings

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