Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Sit-down restaurants in the Faribault-Northfield, MN area
How the Faribault-Northfield, 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 86 out of 100: High
Ranked #7 of 538 scored small-town markets
#1 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 99
- 26 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 36
- +2.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $95.9M
- On food away from home · $4,082 a household
- Spending per listing
- $969K
- 46% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 42.1
- 31% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 69,939
- +4.2% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Faribault-Northfield 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 Faribault-Northfield 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
For sit-down restaurants, the Faribault-Northfield area has a Groundwork market score of 86 (high): #7 of 538 scored small-town markets and #1 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for sit-down restaurants.
As of September 2026, map listings count 99 sit-down restaurants in the Faribault-Northfield area. Chain locations make up 26% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 42.1 for every 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Faribault-Northfield area comes to about $95.9M a year: $4,082 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 99 sit-down restaurants, that is $969K per restaurant, 46% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Faribault-Northfield area was 36 in 2023, up 2.9% from 2019. That is one for every 653 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Faribault-Northfield area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Faribault-Northfield 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 | Faribault-Northfield area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 42.1 | 45.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $969K | $962K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 653 | 595 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.9% | −0.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,082 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $83,181 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 86 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 36+2.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 649
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9926 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 145The 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 Faribault-Northfield 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 Faribault-Northfield area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 69,939+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 23,493
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 496 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 137
- Median household income
- $83,181+21.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,276
- Median home value
- $320,200
- Jobs located here
- 25,685
- Daytime population
- 60,549Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Faribault-Northfield 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 Faribault-Northfield 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 Faribault-Northfield 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 |
Other business types in the Faribault-Northfield area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes86
- Sit-down restaurants86
- Fast food and sandwich shops78
- Pizza77
- Coffee shops and cafes66
- Bakeries and dessert shops85
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 Faribault-Northfield, MN area?
The Faribault-Northfield area has 99 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 26 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 2.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Faribault-Northfield, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $95.9M a year, or $4,082 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 99 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $969K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,493 households in the Faribault-Northfield area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Faribault-Northfield, MN area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Faribault-Northfield area has 42.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $969K, 46% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Faribault-Northfield area would have about 145, against 99 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 653 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Faribault-Northfield, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Faribault-Northfield area at 69,939 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,493 households. The median household income in the Faribault-Northfield area is $83,181 a year, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.3% 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 Faribault-Northfield area scores 86 for sit-down restaurants (high), #7 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 Faribault-Northfield 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 Faribault-Northfield area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Faribault-Northfield 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 Faribault-Northfield 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.