Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa

Coffee shops and cafes in the Ottumwa, IA area

How the Ottumwa, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #446 of 529 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
17
4 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
9
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$48.5M
On food away from home · $3,464 a household
Spending per listing
$2.9M
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.1
10% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
35,210
−0.3% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa 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

The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Ottumwa area is 33 (lower middle), #446 of 529 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 coffee shops and cafes in the Ottumwa area. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 12.1 per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Households in the Ottumwa area spend about $48.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,464 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.9M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Ottumwa area was 9 in 2023. That is one for every 1,555 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too. Population estimates put the population change in the Ottumwa area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureOttumwa areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.111.811.0
Spending per listing$2.9M$3.3M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,5551,7021,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+51.3%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,464$3,880$4,070
Median household income$64,766$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score3340

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
52
Annual payroll, 2023
$526K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
174 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
13The 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 Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa area

Population, 2025 estimate
35,210−0.3% since 2020
Households
13,997
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
432 sq. mi.
People per square mile
82
Median household income
$64,766+40.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,469
Median home value
$125,100
Jobs located here
15,175
Daytime population
34,077Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa 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
12Ottumwa, IA331712.1$2.9M−0.3%#446 of 529

Other business types in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa, IA area?

There are 17 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Ottumwa area as of September 2026. 4 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes.

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

About $48.5M a year, or $3,464 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.9M per cafe. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,997 households in the Ottumwa area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Ottumwa area has 12.1 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.9M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Ottumwa area would have about 13, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,555 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ottumwa, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Ottumwa area at 35,210 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,997 households. The median household income in the Ottumwa area is $64,766 a year, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.1% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Ottumwa area scores 33 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #446 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 Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa 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.