Food and drink · Metro area · North Dakota
Sit-down restaurants in the Bismarck, ND metro area
How the Bismarck, ND metro area compares with other metro areas 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 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 4 scored metro areas based in North Dakota
- Listings
- 230
- 90 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 83
- +12.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $232.9M
- On food away from home · $4,163 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1M
- 53% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 41.1
- 33% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 139,750
- +4.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Bismarck metro 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 Bismarck metro 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 Bismarck metro area has a Groundwork market score of 86 (high): #7 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 4 scored metro areas based in North Dakota. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for sit-down restaurants.
Household spending on food away from home in the Bismarck metro area comes to about $232.9M a year: $4,163 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1M per restaurant, 53% above the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
The Bismarck metro area has 230 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 41.1, 33% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 83 businesses with payroll in the Bismarck metro area classed as full-service restaurants, up 12.3% from 2019. That is one for every 674 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $3.9M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Bismarck metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Bismarck metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Bismarck metro area compares
The same measures for North Dakota 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 | Bismarck metro area | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 41.1 | 50.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $1M | $784K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 674 | 569 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.3% | +0.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +2.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,163 | $3,940 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $85,156 | $76,657 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 86 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 83+12.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,453
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $62.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23090 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 351The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $3.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Bismarck metro 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 Bismarck metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 139,750+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 55,940
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,281 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 32
- Median household income
- $85,156+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $110,205
- Median home value
- $306,400
- Jobs located here
- 71,351
- Daytime population
- 138,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bismarck metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Bismarck metro 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 North Dakota
Every North Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Dakota for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in North Dakota, with the Bismarck metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bismarck, ND | 86 | 230 | 41.1 | $1M | +4.5% | #7 of 387 |
| 2Fargo, ND-MN | 85 | 510 | 46.2 | $857K | +7.7% | #9 of 387 |
| 3Grand Forks, ND-MN | 67 | 192 | 44.0 | $851K | +0.8% | #61 of 387 |
| 4Minot, ND | 60 | 166 | 52.2 | $760K | −2.4% | #112 of 387 |
Other business types in the Bismarck metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes84
- Sit-down restaurants86
- Fast food and sandwich shops81
- Pizza78
- Coffee shops and cafes43
- Bakeries and dessert shops71
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 Bismarck, ND metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 230 sit-down restaurants in the Bismarck metro area. 90 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 83 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, up 12.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bismarck, ND metro area spend on food away from home?
About $232.9M a year, or $4,163 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 230 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1M 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 55,940 households in the Bismarck metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bismarck, ND metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Bismarck metro area has 41.1 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1M, 53% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Bismarck metro area would have about 351, against 230 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 674 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bismarck, ND metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Bismarck metro area at 139,750 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 55,940 households. Median household income in the Bismarck metro area is $85,156, 5% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.3%, 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. The Bismarck metro area scores 86 for sit-down restaurants (high), #7 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Bismarck metro 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 Bismarck metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bismarck metro 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 Bismarck metro 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.