Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Sit-down restaurants in the Brainerd, MN area
How the Brainerd, 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 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #257 of 538 scored small-town markets
#18 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 243
- 63 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 112
- +3.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $159.9M
- On food away from home · $3,782 a household
- Spending per listing
- $658K
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 57.5
- 6% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 100,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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 $3,782 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Brainerd area spend about $159.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $658K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, in line with the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Brainerd area has 243 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 63 are chain locations, or 26%, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 57.5, 6% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Brainerd area was 112 in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 377 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.4M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Brainerd area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Brainerd area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Brainerd area is 51 (upper middle), #257 of 538 scored small-town markets and #18 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota.
How the Brainerd 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 | Brainerd area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 57.5 | 45.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $658K | $962K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 377 | 595 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.7% | −0.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,782 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $71,384 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 112+3.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,714
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $44.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 24363 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 241The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 100,562+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 42,276
- Median age
- 46.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 3,020 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $71,384+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,780
- Median home value
- $301,000
- Jobs located here
- 39,612
- Daytime population
- 95,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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 |
| 18Brainerd, MN | 51 | 243 | 57.5 | $658K | +4.3% | #257 of 538 |
Other business types in the Brainerd area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes57
- Sit-down restaurants51
- Fast food and sandwich shops85
- Pizza67
- Coffee shops and cafes53
- Bakeries and dessert shops75
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 Brainerd, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 243 sit-down restaurants in the Brainerd area. 63 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 112 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 3.7% from 2019. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Brainerd, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $159.9M a year, or $3,782 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 243 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $658K 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 42,276 households in the Brainerd area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Brainerd, MN area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Brainerd area has 57.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $658K, in line with the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Brainerd area would have about 241, against 243 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 377 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Brainerd, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Brainerd area at 100,562 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,276 households. Median household income in the Brainerd area is $71,384, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, 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 Brainerd area scores 51 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #257 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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.