Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Iowa

Convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area

The convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #95 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa

Listings
82
53 chain locations (65%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$699.1M
On groceries · $6,132 a household
Spending per listing
$8.5M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.2
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
279,285
+1.0% since 2020

See the convenience stores around any address in the Cedar Rapids metro 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 Cedar Rapids metro 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

Household spending on groceries in the Cedar Rapids metro area comes to about $699.1M a year: $6,132 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $8.5M of household spending for each store on map listings, 8% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.

The Cedar Rapids metro area has 82 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 53 of them (65%) are chain locations, against 60% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.2, 10% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids metro area in 2023. That is one for every 10,364 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Cedar Rapids metro area grew 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids metro area is 65 (upper middle), #95 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Cedar Rapids metro 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 Cedar Rapids, IA metro area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureCedar Rapids metro areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.28.48.0
Spending per listing$8.5M$7.2M$7.9M
Households per official establishment10,36411,7473,493
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+67.2%+22.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,132$6,036$6,319
Median household income$78,080$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6551

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11
Employees, 2023
43
Annual payroll, 2023
$852K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
8253 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
89The 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 Cedar Rapids metro 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 Cedar Rapids metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
279,285+1.0% since 2020
Households
114,000
Median age
40.4
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,009 sq. mi.
People per square mile
138
Median household income
$78,080+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,989
Median home value
$211,500
Jobs located here
142,164
Daytime population
283,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Cedar Rapids metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Cedar Rapids metro 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 metro areas in Iowa for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Cedar Rapids metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa ranked for convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Omaha, NE-IA812396.1$10.3M+4.2%#15 of 387
1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA802197.4$8.6M+6.7%#17 of 387
2Iowa City, IA79344.7$13M+4.1%#21 of 387
3Ames, IA77244.8$12.5M+2.2%#29 of 387
4Cedar Rapids, IA65827.2$8.5M+1.0%#95 of 387
5Dubuque, IA51389.3$6.6M+0.1%#197 of 387
6Sioux City, IA-NE-SD49559.9$6M+1.0%#211 of 387
7Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL461378.5$7.1M−0.9%#226 of 387
8Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA38649.2$6.4M+0.5%#275 of 387

Other business types in the Cedar Rapids metro area

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

Questions

How many convenience stores are in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 82 convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids metro area. 53 of them (65%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area spend on groceries?

About $699.1M a year, or $6,132 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 82 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $8.5M 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 114,000 households in the Cedar Rapids metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?

The Cedar Rapids metro area has 7.2 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $8.5M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, the Cedar Rapids metro area would have about 89, against 82 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,364 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.

How fast is the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Cedar Rapids metro area at 279,285 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 114,000 households. The median household income in the Cedar Rapids metro area is $78,080 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.7% 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. 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 Cedar Rapids metro area scores 65 for convenience stores (upper middle), #95 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Cedar Rapids metro 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 Cedar Rapids metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cedar Rapids metro 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 Cedar Rapids metro 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.