Food and drink · County · North Dakota
Sit-down restaurants in Nelson County, ND
How Nelson County, ND compares with other counties and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 10
- 3 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.9M
- On food away from home · $3,693 a household
- Spending per listing
- $494K
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 74.7
- 22% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,963
- −1.0% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Nelson 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 Nelson 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
At $3,693 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in Nelson County spend about $4.9M a year on food away from home. That works out to $494K per restaurant, 26% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 10 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Nelson County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 30% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 74.7, 22% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in Nelson County in 2023. That is one for every 191 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
Population estimates show Nelson County declined 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, 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 Nelson County 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 | Nelson County | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 74.7 | 50.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $494K | $784K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 191 | 569 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +2.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,693 | $3,940 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $67,193 | $76,657 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5 → 7
- Employees, 2023
- 27
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $411K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 103 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Nelson 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 Nelson County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,963−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 1,338
- Median age
- 48.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 982 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3
- Median household income
- $67,193
- Average household income
- $100,705
- Median home value
- $139,700
- Jobs located here
- 968
- Daytime population
- 2,899Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Nelson 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 Nelson 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 North Dakota
Every North Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in North Dakota for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in North Dakota, with Nelson County marked.
Top counties in North Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Morton County, ND | 85 | 51 | 36.6 | $1.1M | +3.8% | #64 of 2,405 |
| 2Burleigh County, ND | 75 | 176 | 42.6 | $990K | +4.7% | #243 of 2,405 |
| 3Cass County, ND | 69 | 430 | 51.2 | $772K | +9.1% | #414 of 2,405 |
| 4Grand Forks County, ND | 65 | 136 | 43.5 | $857K | +1.9% | #532 of 2,405 |
| 5McKenzie County, ND | 58 | 34 | 56.7 | $813K | +2.8% | #818 of 2,405 |
| 6Ward County, ND | 58 | 141 | 49.4 | $807K | −2.4% | #820 of 2,405 |
| 7Barnes County, ND | 57 | 23 | 46.9 | $774K | −2.7% | #865 of 2,405 |
| 8Stark County, ND | 55 | 65 | 48.0 | $821K | +0.5% | #942 of 2,405 |
| 9Stutsman County, ND | 54 | 34 | 36.0 | $990K | −0.6% | #972 of 2,405 |
| 10Richland County, ND | 53 | 31 | 45.3 | $861K | +1.2% | #1,026 of 2,405 |
| Nelson County, ND | Not scored | 10 | 74.7 | $494K | −1.0% |
Other business types in Nelson 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 Nelson County, ND?
As of September 2026, map listings count 10 sit-down restaurants in Nelson County. 3 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023.
How much do households in Nelson County, ND spend on food away from home?
About $4.9M a year, or $3,693 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $494K 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 1,338 households in Nelson County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Nelson County, ND compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Nelson County has 74.7 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $494K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, Nelson County would have about 7, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 191 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Nelson County, ND growing?
Population estimates put Nelson County at 2,963 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,338 households. Median household income in Nelson County is $67,193, 17% 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 Nelson 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 Nelson County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Nelson 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 Nelson 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.