Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Sit-down restaurants in the Albert Lea, MN area
How the Albert Lea, MN 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #192 of 538 scored small-town markets
#16 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 56
- 21 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- +4.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $47.3M
- On food away from home · $3,684 a household
- Spending per listing
- $845K
- 27% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 43.6
- 29% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,440
- −1.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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
At $3,684 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Albert Lea area spend about $47.3M a year on food away from home. That works out to $845K per restaurant, 27% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Albert Lea area has 56 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 43.6 for every 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Albert Lea area was 24 in 2023, up 4.4% from 2019. That is one for every 535 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Albert Lea area declined 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For sit-down restaurants, the Albert Lea area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #192 of 538 scored small-town markets and #16 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota.
How the Albert Lea area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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.
| Measure | Albert Lea area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 43.6 | 45.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $845K | $962K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 535 | 595 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.4% | −0.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,684 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $71,023 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 24+4.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 326
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5621 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 71The 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 Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,440−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 12,846
- Median age
- 45.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 707 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $71,023+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,926
- Median home value
- $171,100
- Jobs located here
- 11,051
- Daytime population
- 27,708Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-down restaurants across Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Albert Lea area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| 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 |
| 16Albert Lea, MN | 57 | 56 | 43.6 | $845K | −1.5% | #192 of 538 |
Other business types in the Albert Lea area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes65
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza62
- Coffee shops and cafes45
- Bakeries and dessert shops67
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 sit-down restaurants are in the Albert Lea, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 56 sit-down restaurants in the Albert Lea area. 21 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 4.4% from 2019. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Albert Lea, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $47.3M a year, or $3,684 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 56 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $845K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,846 households in the Albert Lea area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Albert Lea, MN area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Albert Lea area has 43.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $845K, 27% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Albert Lea area would have about 71, against 56 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 535 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Albert Lea, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Albert Lea area at 30,440 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,846 households. Median household income in the Albert Lea area is $71,023, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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 Albert Lea area scores 57 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #192 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 Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea 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.