Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Sit-down restaurants in Cook County, MN

The sit-down restaurants in Cook County, MN, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
24
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.5M
On food away from home · $3,869 a household
Spending per listing
$437K
34% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
88.6
45% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,522
−1.4% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Cook 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 Cook County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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 24 sit-down restaurants in Cook County. None of them are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 88.6, 45% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $3,869 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in Cook County spend about $10.5M a year on food away from home. That works out to $437K per restaurant, 34% below 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 12 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Cook County in 2023. That is one for every 226 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $688K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Cook County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cook County declined 1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Cook 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Cook County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureCook CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households88.645.061.3
Spending per listing$437K$962K$664K
Households per official establishment226595500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.4%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,869$4,330$4,070
Median household income$72,638$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored79

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13 → 12
Employees, 2023
153
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
240 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$688K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in Cook 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 Cook County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,522−1.4% since 2020
Households
2,710
Median age
52.5
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,453 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4
Median household income
$72,638
Average household income
$96,178
Median home value
$336,200
Jobs located here
2,521
Daytime population
5,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cook 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 Cook County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Sit-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 Cook County marked.

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN929827.6$1.7M+6.8%#10 of 2,405
2Carver County, MN9014535.2$1.5M+6.6%#20 of 2,405
3Isanti County, MN894427.0$1.5M+7.3%#26 of 2,405
4Wright County, MN8919636.3$1.3M+11.1%#29 of 2,405
5Clay County, MN888030.3$1.3M+3.6%#37 of 2,405
6Anoka County, MN8850536.7$1.2M+4.7%#41 of 2,405
7Scott County, MN8621138.4$1.3M+5.1%#52 of 2,405
8Washington County, MN8441539.3$1.3M+6.9%#69 of 2,405
9Dakota County, MN8268939.5$1.2M+3.9%#92 of 2,405
10Chisago County, MN819142.6$1.1M+4.3%#115 of 2,405
Cook County, MNNot scored2488.6$437K−1.4%

Other business types in Cook County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in Cook County, MN?

Cook County has 24 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

How much do households in Cook County, MN spend on food away from home?

About $10.5M a year, or $3,869 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $437K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,710 households in Cook County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cook County, MN compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

Cook County has 88.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $437K, 34% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Cook County would have about 16, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 226 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Cook County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Cook County at 5,522 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,710 households. The median household income in Cook County is $72,638 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cook 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 Cook County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cook 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 Cook 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.