Groceries and convenience · County · Iowa
Convenience stores in Dubuque County, IA
How Dubuque County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #598 of 2,261 scored counties
#15 of 60 scored counties in Iowa
- Listings
- 38
- 23 chain locations (61%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $248.9M
- On groceries · $6,073 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.6M
- 17% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.3
- 16% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 99,381
- +0.1% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in Dubuque County
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 Dubuque County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $6,073 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Dubuque County spend about $248.9M a year on groceries. That works out to $6.6M per store, 17% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
Dubuque County has 38 convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 61% of them, against 60% across the U.S. That comes to 9.3 for every 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as convenience stores in Dubuque County in 2023. That is one for every 8,198 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in Dubuque County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for convenience stores in Dubuque County is 65 (upper middle), #598 of 2,261 scored counties and #15 of 60 scored counties in Iowa.
How Dubuque County 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.
| Measure | Dubuque County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.3 | 8.4 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $6.6M | $7.2M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | 8,198 | 11,747 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +67.2% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,073 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $77,630 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5 → 5
- Employees, 2023
- 17
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $293K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3823 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 32The 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 Dubuque County, 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 Dubuque County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 99,381+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 40,989
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 608 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 163
- Median household income
- $77,630+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $100,177
- Median home value
- $237,300
- Jobs located here
- 58,941
- Daytime population
- 105,695Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Dubuque County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Dubuque County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardConvenience stores across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Dubuque County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dallas County, IA | 94 | 27 | 6.4 | $10.7M | +17.8% | #12 of 2,261 |
| 2Johnson County, IA | 84 | 29 | 4.6 | $13.4M | +4.6% | #97 of 2,261 |
| 3Polk County, IA | 84 | 152 | 7.4 | $8.5M | +4.8% | #108 of 2,261 |
| 4Warren County, IA | 84 | 16 | 7.7 | $8.3M | +9.0% | #109 of 2,261 |
| 5Story County, IA | 83 | 16 | 4.1 | $14.5M | +2.7% | #114 of 2,261 |
| 6Linn County, IA | 76 | 66 | 6.9 | $8.9M | +0.7% | #279 of 2,261 |
| 7Pottawattamie County, IA | 71 | 25 | 6.6 | $9M | −0.7% | #404 of 2,261 |
| 8Madison County, IA | 71 | 6 | 9.0 | $7M | +3.8% | #413 of 2,261 |
| 9Washington County, IA | 70 | 5 | 5.6 | $10.8M | +0.6% | #421 of 2,261 |
| 10Marion County, IA | 70 | 10 | 7.5 | $8.1M | +2.3% | #434 of 2,261 |
| 15Dubuque County, IA | 65 | 38 | 9.3 | $6.6M | +0.1% | #598 of 2,261 |
Other business types in Dubuque County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores68
- Grocery stores66
- Convenience stores65
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many convenience stores are in Dubuque County, IA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 38 convenience stores in Dubuque County. 23 of them (61%) 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 Dubuque County, IA spend on groceries?
About $248.9M a year, or $6,073 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 38 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $6.6M 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 40,989 households in Dubuque County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Dubuque County, IA compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
Dubuque County has 9.3 convenience stores per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $6.6M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. At the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending, Dubuque County would have about 32, against 38 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,198 households, against one for every 3,493 across the U.S.
How fast is Dubuque County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Dubuque County at 99,381 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 40,989 households. The median household income in Dubuque County is $77,630 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. Dubuque County scores 65 for convenience stores (upper middle), #598 of 2,261 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dubuque County. 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 Dubuque County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Dubuque County?
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 Dubuque County. 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.