Food and drink · County · Montana
Sit-down restaurants in Hill County, MT
The sit-down restaurants in Hill County, MT, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #2,193 of 2,405 scored counties
#20 of 21 scored counties in Montana
- Listings
- 32
- 8 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $20M
- On food away from home · $3,217 a household
- Spending per listing
- $624K
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 51.6
- 16% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 16,167
- −0.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Hill 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 Hill 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
For sit-down restaurants, Hill County has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #2,193 of 2,405 scored counties and #20 of 21 scored counties in Montana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Hill County spend about $20M a year on food away from home, or $3,217 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That is about $624K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 6% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 32 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Hill County as of September 2026. 8 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 51.6 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Hill County was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 443 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Hill County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Hill 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 | Hill County | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 51.6 | 52.4 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $624K | $716K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 443 | 433 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.0% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.5% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,217 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $52,798 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14 → 14
- Employees, 2023
- 233
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 328 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 30The 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 Hill 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 Hill County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 16,167−0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 6,206
- Median age
- 34.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 2,899 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 6
- Median household income
- $52,798+7.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $75,118
- Median home value
- $202,600
- Jobs located here
- 6,080
- Daytime population
- 15,558Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Hill 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 Hill 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 Hill 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 |
| 20Hill County, MT | 25 | 32 | 51.6 | $624K | −0.5% | #2,193 of 2,405 |
Other business types in Hill County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes18
- Sit-down restaurants25
- Fast food and sandwich shops
- Pizza
- Coffee shops and cafes24
- Bakeries and dessert shops26
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 Hill County, MT?
As of September 2026, map listings count 32 sit-down restaurants in Hill County. 8 of them (25%) 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 Hill County, MT spend on food away from home?
About $20M a year, or $3,217 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $624K 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 6,206 households in Hill County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Hill County, MT compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Hill County has 51.6 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $624K, 6% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Hill County would have about 30, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 443 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Hill County, MT growing?
Population estimates put Hill County at 16,167 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,206 households. Median household income in Hill County is $52,798, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 7.1%, 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. Hill County scores 25 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #2,193 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hill 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 Hill County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Hill 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 Hill 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.