Food and drink · County · Montana
Sit-down restaurants in Dawson County, MT
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for sit-down restaurants in Dawson County, MT, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 18
- 5 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $13M
- On food away from home · $3,599 a household
- Spending per listing
- $723K
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 49.8
- 19% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,692
- −2.6% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Dawson 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 Dawson 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
Households in Dawson County spend about $13M a year on food away from home, or $3,599 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That is about $723K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 9% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
Dawson County has 18 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 5 of them (28%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 49.8, 19% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Dawson County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 452 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Dawson County declined 2.6%, 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 Dawson County compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Dawson County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 49.8 | 52.4 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $723K | $716K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 452 | 433 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.0% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,599 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $71,334 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9 → 8
- Employees, 2023
- 106
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 185 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 20The 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 Dawson 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 Dawson County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,692−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 3,615
- Median age
- 43.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 2,372 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $71,334
- Average household income
- $87,555
- Median home value
- $185,300
- Jobs located here
- 3,735
- Daytime population
- 8,445Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Dawson 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 Dawson 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Montana for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Montana, with Dawson County marked.
Top counties in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson County, MT | 76 | 19 | 38.0 | $1.1M | +9.8% | #220 of 2,405 |
| 2Ravalli County, MT | 65 | 73 | 39.1 | $930K | +9.4% | #522 of 2,405 |
| 3Yellowstone County, MT | 65 | 302 | 43.2 | $900K | +4.5% | #526 of 2,405 |
| 4Missoula County, MT | 63 | 245 | 46.5 | $824K | +4.4% | #622 of 2,405 |
| 5Lewis and Clark County, MT | 62 | 142 | 45.5 | $863K | +5.8% | #662 of 2,405 |
| 6Big Horn County, MT | 57 | 12 | 31.4 | $999K | −2.5% | #841 of 2,405 |
| 7Cascade County, MT | 49 | 176 | 49.4 | $722K | +0.7% | #1,227 of 2,405 |
| 8Flathead County, MT | 47 | 259 | 58.6 | $649K | +10.1% | #1,330 of 2,405 |
| 9Gallatin County, MT | 46 | 372 | 72.6 | $601K | +7.7% | #1,386 of 2,405 |
| 10Fergus County, MT | 44 | 22 | 41.5 | $798K | +3.1% | #1,444 of 2,405 |
| Dawson County, MT | Not scored | 18 | 49.8 | $723K | −2.6% |
Other business types in Dawson County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
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 Dawson County, MT?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 sit-down restaurants in Dawson County. 5 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.
How much do households in Dawson County, MT spend on food away from home?
About $13M a year, or $3,599 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $723K 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 3,615 households in Dawson County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Dawson County, MT compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Dawson County has 49.8 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $723K, 9% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Dawson County would have about 20, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 452 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Dawson County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Dawson County at 8,692 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,615 households. Median household income in Dawson County is $71,334, 12% 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 Dawson 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 Dawson County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Dawson 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 Dawson 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.