Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Iowa

Convenience stores in the Burlington, IA-IL area

The convenience stores in the Burlington, IA-IL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #172 of 529 scored small-town markets
#5 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
12
6 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$112.5M
On groceries · $5,657 a household
Spending per listing
$9.4M
19% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.0
25% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
44,061
−2.5% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Burlington area

The site report maps the convenience 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 Burlington area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in the Burlington area spend about $112.5M a year on groceries, or $5,657 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $9.4M per store, 19% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

The Burlington area has 12 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.0, 25% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in the Burlington area classed as convenience stores. That is one for every 3,976 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Burlington area declined 2.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Burlington area scores 60 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for convenience stores, ranking #172 of 529 scored small-town markets and #5 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Burlington area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the convenience 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.

Convenience stores in Burlington, IA-IL area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureBurlington areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.08.48.0
Spending per listing$9.4M$7.2M$7.9M
Households per official establishment3,97611,7473,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+67.2%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,657$6,036$6,319
Median household income$62,811$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6051

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5
Employees, 2023
16
Annual payroll, 2023
$336K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
126 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 convenience stores in the Burlington 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 Burlington area

Population, 2025 estimate
44,061−2.5% since 2020
Households
19,882
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
795 sq. mi.
People per square mile
56
Median household income
$62,811+21.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,624
Median home value
$131,000
Jobs located here
20,875
Daytime population
44,288Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Burlington 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 convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Convenience stores across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Burlington area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Pella, IA81107.5$8.1M+2.3%#20 of 529
2Spirit Lake, IA7877.9$7.8M+1.7%#35 of 529
3Le Mars, IA7387.8$8M0.0%#61 of 529
4Muscatine, IA62137.5$7.8M−3.0%#156 of 529
5Burlington, IA-IL60126.0$9.4M−2.5%#172 of 529
6Carroll, IA6078.0$7.5M−2.0%#174 of 529
7Ottumwa, IA57117.9$7.2M−0.3%#209 of 529
8Clinton, IA51189.2$6.3M−0.9%#274 of 529
9Oskaloosa, IA50910.3$5.7M−1.2%#283 of 529
10Mason City, IA472511.0$5.3M−1.5%#311 of 529

Other business types in the Burlington area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Burlington, IA-IL area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 convenience stores in the Burlington area. 6 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Burlington, IA-IL area spend on groceries?

About $112.5M a year, or $5,657 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $9.4M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which convenience stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,882 households in the Burlington area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Burlington, IA-IL area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Burlington area has 6.0 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $9.4M, 19% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Burlington area would have about 14, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,976 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is the Burlington, IA-IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Burlington area at 44,061 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,882 households. The median household income in the Burlington area is $62,811 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.6% 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 Burlington area scores 60 for convenience stores (upper middle), #172 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 Burlington area. It maps the convenience 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 convenience stores · All 56 business types in the Burlington area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Burlington 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 Burlington 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.