Food and drink · Small-town market · Minnesota
Sit-down restaurants in the Fergus Falls, MN area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in the Fergus Falls, MN area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #154 of 538 scored small-town markets
#14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 117
- 36 chain locations (31%)
- Official establishments
- 56
- −3.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $95.2M
- On food away from home · $3,783 a household
- Spending per listing
- $813K
- 23% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 46.5
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 61,041
- +1.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 117 sit-down restaurants in the Fergus Falls area. Chain locations make up 31% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That is 46.5 per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $3,783 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Fergus Falls area spend about $95.2M a year on food away from home. That is about $813K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 23% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 56 businesses with payroll in the Fergus Falls area classed as full-service restaurants, down 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 449 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Official counts also show 9 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Fergus Falls area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Fergus Falls area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, the Fergus Falls area has a Groundwork market score of 61 (upper middle): #154 of 538 scored small-town markets and #14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota.
How the Fergus Falls 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 | Fergus Falls area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 46.5 | 45.0 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $813K | $962K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 449 | 595 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.4% | −0.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.6% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,783 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,255 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 79 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 56−3.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 687
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 9Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11736 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 143The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 61,041+1.6% since 2020
- Households
- 25,157
- Median age
- 45.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 79%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,972 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 31
- Median household income
- $72,255+23.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,523
- Median home value
- $273,000
- Jobs located here
- 23,068
- Daytime population
- 55,886Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls 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 |
| 14Fergus Falls, MN | 61 | 117 | 46.5 | $813K | +1.6% | #154 of 538 |
Other business types in the Fergus Falls area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes68
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops79
- Pizza71
- Coffee shops and cafes57
- Bakeries and dessert shops68
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 Fergus Falls, MN area?
There are 117 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Fergus Falls area as of September 2026. 36 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 56 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 3.4% from 2019. Another 9 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Fergus Falls, MN area spend on food away from home?
About $95.2M a year, or $3,783 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 117 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $813K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 25,157 households in the Fergus Falls area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fergus Falls, MN area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Fergus Falls area has 46.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $813K, 23% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Fergus Falls area would have about 143, against 117 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 449 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Fergus Falls, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Fergus Falls area at 61,041 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 25,157 households. The median household income in the Fergus Falls area is $72,255 a year, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.1% 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 Fergus Falls area scores 61 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #154 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 Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls 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.