Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa

Coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Dodge, IA area

The coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Dodge, IA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #150 of 529 scored small-town markets
#2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
12
6 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
6
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$54.4M
On food away from home · $3,540 a household
Spending per listing
$4.5M
22% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.8
29% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,838
−0.4% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Fort Dodge area

The site report maps the coffee shops and cafes 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 Dodge 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

At $3,540 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Dodge area spend about $54.4M a year on food away from home. Spread across 12 coffee shops and cafes, that is $4.5M per cafe, 22% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The Fort Dodge area has 12 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 7.8 per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Fort Dodge area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 2,563 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes.

Population estimates put the population change in the Fort Dodge area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Fort Dodge area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #150 of 529 scored small-town markets and #2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Fort Dodge area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the coffee shops and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Coffee shops and cafes in Fort Dodge, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureFort Dodge areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.811.811.0
Spending per listing$4.5M$3.3M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,5631,7021,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+51.3%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,540$3,880$4,070
Median household income$68,975$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6140

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
89
Annual payroll, 2023
$880K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
126 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The 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 snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Fort Dodge 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. These official figures cover all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes.

Population and households in the Fort Dodge area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,838−0.4% since 2020
Households
15,375
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
716 sq. mi.
People per square mile
52
Median household income
$68,975+45.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,997
Median home value
$153,800
Jobs located here
17,395
Daytime population
38,670Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Dodge 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 coffee shops and cafes on map listings by name and distance.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Fort Dodge area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Marshalltown, IA7463.9$9.4M−0.5%#28 of 529
2Fort Dodge, IA61127.8$4.5M−0.4%#150 of 529
3Oskaloosa, IA5778.0$4.5M−1.2%#191 of 529
4Muscatine, IA56169.2$4M−3.0%#207 of 529
5Le Mars, IA491413.6$2.9M0.0%#279 of 529
6Burlington, IA-IL48199.6$3.6M−2.5%#287 of 529
7Pella, IA471712.8$3.1M+2.3%#298 of 529
8Storm Lake, IA441114.6$2.6M−1.7%#332 of 529
9Mason City, IA362611.4$3.2M−1.5%#417 of 529
10Clinton, IA353015.4$2.4M−0.9%#437 of 529

Other business types in the Fort Dodge area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Fort Dodge, IA area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Dodge area. 6 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too.

How much do households in the Fort Dodge, IA area spend on food away from home?

About $54.4M a year, or $3,540 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.5M per cafe. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,375 households in the Fort Dodge area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Dodge, IA area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Fort Dodge area has 7.8 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.5M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Fort Dodge area would have about 15, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,563 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Dodge, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Dodge area at 36,838 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,375 households. Median household income in the Fort Dodge area is $68,975, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 45.3%, before inflation.

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 Dodge area scores 61 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #150 of 529 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 Dodge area. It maps the coffee shops and cafes 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 coffee shops and cafes · All 56 business types in the Fort Dodge area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Dodge area?

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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.