Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Sit-down restaurants in Meeker County, MN

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Meeker County, MN, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 68 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #424 of 2,405 scored counties
#23 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
35
12 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$35.5M
On food away from home · $3,801 a household
Spending per listing
$1M
53% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
37.4
39% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
23,603
+0.7% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Meeker 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 Meeker 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 35 sit-down restaurants in Meeker County. 12 of them (34%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 37.4, 39% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

Household spending on food away from home in Meeker County comes to about $35.5M a year: $3,801 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1M per restaurant, 53% 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 Meeker County was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 668 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in Meeker County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For sit-down restaurants, Meeker County has a Groundwork market score of 68 (upper middle): #424 of 2,405 scored counties and #23 of 66 scored counties in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Meeker 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 Meeker County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureMeeker CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households37.445.061.3
Spending per listing$1M$962K$664K
Households per official establishment668595500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.5%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.7%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,801$4,330$4,070
Median household income$75,446$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6879

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15 → 14
Employees, 2023
158
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3512 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
54The 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 Meeker 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 Meeker County

Population, 2025 estimate
23,603+0.7% since 2020
Households
9,347
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
608 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$75,446+18.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,684
Median home value
$249,000
Jobs located here
8,295
Daytime population
19,553Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Meeker 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 Meeker 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 Meeker 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
23Meeker County, MN683537.4$1M+0.7%#424 of 2,405

Other business types in Meeker County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

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

Meeker County has 35 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 12 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.

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

About $35.5M a year, or $3,801 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1M per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 9,347 households in Meeker County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Meeker County has 37.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1M, 53% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Meeker County would have about 54, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 668 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is Meeker County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Meeker County at 23,603 people in 2025, up 0.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 9,347 households. The median household income in Meeker County is $75,446 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.9% 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. 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. Meeker County scores 68 for sit-down restaurants (upper middle), #424 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Meeker 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 Meeker 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.