Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Small-town market · Iowa

Clothing and shoe stores in the Fort Madison, IA area

The clothing and shoe stores in the Fort Madison, IA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #213 of 536 scored small-town markets
#6 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
18
6 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$25.4M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $1,772 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
11% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.6
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
32,306
−3.6% since 2020

See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the Fort Madison area

The site report maps the clothing and shoe stores 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 Fort Madison area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 18 clothing and shoe stores in the Fort Madison area. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 44% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.6, 22% below the U.S. rate of 16.2.

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Fort Madison area comes to about $25.4M a year: $1,772 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 11% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which clothing and shoe stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Fort Madison area in 2023. That is one for every 4,774 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Official counts also show 19 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Madison area declined 3.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For clothing and shoe stores, the Fort Madison area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #213 of 536 scored small-town markets and #6 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Fort Madison area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the clothing and shoe stores counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Clothing and shoe stores in Fort Madison, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureFort Madison areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.615.616.2
Spending per listing$1.4M$1.3M$1.3M
Households per official establishment4,7741,4991,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−14.3%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$1,772$1,967$2,055
Median household income$62,382$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score5748

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
18
Annual payroll, 2023
$368K
One-person businesses, 2023
19Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
186 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The 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 clothing and shoe stores in the Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison area

Population, 2025 estimate
32,306−3.6% since 2020
Households
14,323
Median age
42.9
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
518 sq. mi.
People per square mile
64
Median household income
$62,382
Average household income
$79,169
Median home value
$141,400
Jobs located here
13,626
Daytime population
31,700Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Madison area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the clothing and shoe stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Fort Madison area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Clothing and shoe stores across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for clothing and shoe stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Fort Madison area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Marshalltown, IA75117.1$2.6M−0.5%#57 of 536
2Muscatine, IA661911.0$1.7M−3.0%#132 of 536
3Le Mars, IA651110.7$1.9M0.0%#138 of 536
4Clinton, IA602412.3$1.5M−0.9%#182 of 536
5Pella, IA602015.0$1.3M+2.3%#185 of 536
6Fort Madison, IA571812.6$1.4M−3.6%#213 of 536
7Oskaloosa, IA551314.9$1.2M−1.2%#231 of 536
8Ottumwa, IA502517.9$995K−0.3%#278 of 536
9Fort Dodge, IA453120.2$897K−0.4%#317 of 536
10Mason City, IA404218.5$1M−1.5%#357 of 536

Other business types in the Fort Madison area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many clothing and shoe stores are in the Fort Madison, IA area?

There are 18 clothing and shoe stores on map listings in the Fort Madison area as of September 2026. 6 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023. Another 19 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Fort Madison, IA area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $25.4M a year, or $1,772 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1.4M per store. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only clothing and shoe stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,323 households in the Fort Madison area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Madison, IA area compare with the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores?

The Fort Madison area has 12.6 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $1.4M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Fort Madison area would have about 20, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,774 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Madison, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Madison area at 32,306 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,323 households. The median household income in the Fort Madison area is $62,382 a year, 23% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Fort Madison area scores 57 for clothing and shoe stores (upper middle), #213 of 536 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Madison area. It maps the clothing and shoe stores 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 clothing and shoe stores · All 56 business types in the Fort Madison area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison 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.