The Midwest is a diverse section of the country with large cities, bountiful farmland, smaller communities, and a varied political landscape.
Read about the 125 biggest restaurant groups in America here.
The United States Census Bureau defines 12 states as Midwestern: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Together they accounted for 20.6% of the U.S. population in 2023, down slightly from 20.8% in 2020.
It has 19 population centers with 500,000 or more people, the largest being Chicago, with around 9.3 million as of July of 2023, followed by Detroit with 4.3 million, Minneapolis/St. Paul with 3.7 million, and St. Louis with 2.8 million. Cincinnati, Kansas City, Columbus, and Cleveland each have around 2.2 million people.
Most of the largest cities are shrinking. Chicago’s population is down the most, by around 2% since April 2020. Cleveland’s is down by 1.2% and Detroit’s by 1.1%.
But the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have grown by around 0.6%, Cincinnati’s population is up by around 1%, Kansas City is up by 1.3%, and Columbus by nearly 2%.
Des Moines, Iowa, is the fastest growing city, up by 3.9%.
The biggest cities all have dynamic restaurant scenes. Chicago has long been a premiere dining destination and leads the country when it comes to experimental cuisine — most notably at Alinea, chef Grant Achatz’s flagship, although many chefs who started in his kitchens have struck out on their own.
But over the past 15 years or so, numerous chefs who were born in the Midwest but sought their fortunes in coastal areas have returned home, taking advantage of the generally lower rents, an increasingly sophisticated customer base, and support for local chefs who made good.
Many of the region’s largest and most dynamic restaurant groups are based in Chicago, but operators in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Omaha, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, and elsewhere in Midwest also have successful and growing multi-concept operations.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
