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Restaurants in Minnesota

How many restaurants exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 10 Minnesota counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Sit-down restaurants with table service. Counted together because official statistics use one 722511 code.

State verdict (covered counties): Below the U.S. rate — 80% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Minnesota

Restaurants

2,404

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

5.1

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.4

per 10,000 present

State index

80%

vs. U.S.

Residents

3,717,544

in covered counties

Workers

1,991,426

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 10 Minnesota counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing restaurants and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Minnesota

City	County	Restaurants	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Duluth	St. Louis County	145–199	198,429	83,349	6.0	95–127%	Range spans bands
Saint Paul	Ramsey County	401–407	542,837	283,821	5.9	92%	Below average
Minneapolis	Hennepin County	933–967	1,274,032	930,781	5.4	84–86%	Below average
Rochester	Olmsted County	112–122	161,039	105,002	5.2	82–86%	Below average
Saint Cloud	Stearns County	104–130	159,675	83,157	5.2	81–100%	Below average
Saint Paul	Dakota County	257–267	447,813	184,893	4.8	74–77%	Below average
Saint Paul	Washington County	158–170	285,910	97,169	4.7	74–80%	Below average
Shakopee	Scott County	79–83	157,514	60,893	4.2	66–69%	Below average
Monticello	Wright County	64–76	139,143	42,307	4.0	62–74%	Below average
Minneapolis	Anoka County	151–155	351,152	120,054	3.7	57–59%	Well below average

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

95%

92%

84%

82%

81%

74%

74%

66%

Most competitors per capita

57%

62%

66%

74%

74%

81%

82%

84%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few restaurants may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.