Food and drink · County · Minnesota
Sit-down restaurants in Clay County, MN
How Clay County, MN compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 88 out of 100: High
Ranked #37 of 2,405 scored counties
#5 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota
- Listings
- 80
- 34 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 20
- −16.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $105.1M
- On food away from home · $3,974 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 98% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 30.3
- 51% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 67,734
- +3.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Clay County
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 Clay County. 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
For sit-down restaurants, Clay County has a Groundwork market score of 88 (high): #37 of 2,405 scored counties and #5 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.
Household spending on food away from home in Clay County comes to about $105.1M a year: $3,974 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 98% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 80 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Clay County as of September 2026. 34 of them (43%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 30.3, 51% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Clay County in 2023, down 16.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,322 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $298K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Clay County. Population estimates show Clay County grew 3.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Clay County 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 | Clay County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 30.3 | 45.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $962K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,322 | 595 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −16.7% | −0.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,974 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $81,172 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 88 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 24 → 20−16.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 357
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8034 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 158The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $298K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Clay County, 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 Clay County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 67,734+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 26,442
- Median age
- 34.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,045 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 63
- Median household income
- $81,172+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,798
- Median home value
- $265,500
- Jobs located here
- 20,888
- Daytime population
- 54,566Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Clay County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Clay County. 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 counties in Minnesota for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Clay County marked.
Top counties in Minnesota
| 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 |
Other business types in Clay County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes85
- Sit-down restaurants88
- Fast food and sandwich shops78
- Pizza73
- Coffee shops and cafes78
- Bakeries and dessert shops86
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 Clay County, MN?
As of September 2026, map listings count 80 sit-down restaurants in Clay County. 34 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 16.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Clay County, MN spend on food away from home?
About $105.1M a year, or $3,974 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 80 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.3M 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 26,442 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Clay County, MN compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Clay County has 30.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 51% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.3M, 98% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Clay County would have about 158, against 80 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,322 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 16.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is Clay County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Clay County at 67,734 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,442 households. Median household income in Clay County is $81,172, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.4%, 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. 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. Clay County scores 88 for sit-down restaurants (high), #37 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Clay County. 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 Clay County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay County?
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 Clay County. 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.