Food and drink · County · North Dakota
Sit-down restaurants in Wells County, ND
The sit-down restaurants in Wells County, ND, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 10
- 4 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.5M
- On food away from home · $3,618 a household
- Spending per listing
- $646K
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 56.0
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,729
- −5.9% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in Wells 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 Wells 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 sit-down restaurants in Wells County. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 40%, against 29% across the U.S. That is 56.0 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.
At $3,618 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in Wells County spend about $6.5M a year on food away from home. That is about $646K of household spending for each restaurant on map listings, 3% below 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in Wells County classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 255 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
Population estimates show Wells County declined 5.9% 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 Wells 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 | Wells County | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 56.0 | 50.3 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $646K | $784K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 255 | 569 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.9% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −5.9% | +2.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,618 | $3,940 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $66,114 | $76,657 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 7
- Employees, 2023
- 33
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $335K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 104 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10The 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 Wells 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 Wells County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,729−5.9% since 2020
- Households
- 1,787
- Median age
- 45.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 1,271 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3
- Median household income
- $66,114
- Average household income
- $96,130
- Median home value
- $114,500
- Jobs located here
- 1,434
- Daytime population
- 3,709Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Wells 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 Wells 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 Wells 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 |
| Wells County, ND | Not scored | 10 | 56.0 | $646K | −5.9% |
Other business types in Wells 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 Wells County, ND?
There are 10 sit-down restaurants on map listings in Wells County as of September 2026. 4 of them (40%) 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 Wells County, ND spend on food away from home?
About $6.5M a year, or $3,618 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $646K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,787 households in Wells County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Wells County, ND compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
Wells County has 56.0 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $646K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 255 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is Wells County, ND growing?
Population estimates put Wells County at 3,729 people in 2025, down 5.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,787 households. The median household income in Wells County is $66,114 a year, 18% 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 Wells 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 Wells County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Wells 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 Wells 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.