Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Sit-down restaurants in the Bemidji, MN area
The sit-down restaurants in the Bemidji, MN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #99 of 538 scored small-town markets
#10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 74
- 27 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 39
- +11.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $67.2M
- On food away from home · $3,698 a household
- Spending per listing
- $908K
- 37% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 40.7
- 34% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 47,055
- +1.8% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 74 sit-down restaurants in the Bemidji area. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 40.7 for every 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Bemidji area comes to about $67.2M a year: $3,698 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. That works out to $908K per restaurant, 37% 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.
Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Bemidji area in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. That is one for every 466 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts list 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.9M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Bemidji area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bemidji area grew 1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Bemidji area scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #99 of 538 scored small-town markets and #10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Bemidji 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 | Bemidji area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 40.7 | 45.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $908K | $962K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 466 | 595 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.4% | −0.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.8% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,698 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,975 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 39+11.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 746
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $16.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7427 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 101The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 47,055+1.8% since 2020
- Households
- 18,172
- Median age
- 37.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,505 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 19
- Median household income
- $68,975+40.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,694
- Median home value
- $237,500
- Jobs located here
- 21,323
- Daytime population
- 47,553Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji 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 Bemidji 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 |
| 10Bemidji, MN | 66 | 74 | 40.7 | $908K | +1.8% | #99 of 538 |
Other business types in the Bemidji area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes74
- Sit-down restaurants66
- Fast food and sandwich shops67
- Pizza76
- Coffee shops and cafes64
- Bakeries and dessert shops81
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 Bemidji, MN area?
The Bemidji area has 74 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 27 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bemidji, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $67.2M a year, or $3,698 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 74 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $908K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,172 households in the Bemidji area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bemidji, MN area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Bemidji area has 40.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $908K, 37% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Bemidji area would have about 101, against 74 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 466 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bemidji, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Bemidji area at 47,055 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,172 households. The median household income in the Bemidji area is $68,975 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.3% 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 Bemidji area scores 66 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #99 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 Bemidji 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 Bemidji area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji 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.