Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Iowa
Convenience stores in the Spirit Lake, IA area
How the Spirit Lake, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 78 out of 100: High
Ranked #35 of 529 scored small-town markets
#2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 7
- 6 chain locations (86%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $54.3M
- On groceries · $6,141 a household
- Spending per listing
- $7.8M
- 2% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.9
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the convenience stores around any address in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area. 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
For convenience stores, the Spirit Lake area has a Groundwork market score of 78 (high): #35 of 529 scored small-town markets and #2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for convenience stores.
Household spending on groceries in the Spirit Lake area comes to about $54.3M a year: $6,141 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 7 convenience stores, that is $7.8M per store, 2% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only convenience stores.
There are 7 convenience stores on map listings in the Spirit Lake area as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 86%, against 60% across the U.S. That is 7.9 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for convenience stores in the Spirit Lake area, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates put the population change in the Spirit Lake area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Spirit Lake 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.
| Measure | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $7.8M | $7.2M | $7.9M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 11,747 | 3,493 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +67.2% | +22.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,141 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 78 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 76 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area. 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 small-town markets in Iowa for convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 81 | 10 | 7.5 | $8.1M | +2.3% | #20 of 529 |
| 2Spirit Lake, IA | 78 | 7 | 7.9 | $7.8M | +1.7% | #35 of 529 |
| 3Le Mars, IA | 73 | 8 | 7.8 | $8M | 0.0% | #61 of 529 |
| 4Muscatine, IA | 62 | 13 | 7.5 | $7.8M | −3.0% | #156 of 529 |
| 5Burlington, IA-IL | 60 | 12 | 6.0 | $9.4M | −2.5% | #172 of 529 |
| 6Carroll, IA | 60 | 7 | 8.0 | $7.5M | −2.0% | #174 of 529 |
| 7Ottumwa, IA | 57 | 11 | 7.9 | $7.2M | −0.3% | #209 of 529 |
| 8Clinton, IA | 51 | 18 | 9.2 | $6.3M | −0.9% | #274 of 529 |
| 9Oskaloosa, IA | 50 | 9 | 10.3 | $5.7M | −1.2% | #283 of 529 |
| 10Mason City, IA | 47 | 25 | 11.0 | $5.3M | −1.5% | #311 of 529 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores67
- Grocery stores47
- Convenience stores78
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 the Spirit Lake, IA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 7 convenience stores in the Spirit Lake area. 6 of them (86%) are chain locations. The listings count convenience stores without fuel. No official count is published for convenience stores in the Spirit Lake area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on groceries?
About $54.3M a year, or $6,141 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $7.8M 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 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for convenience stores?
The Spirit Lake area has 7.9 convenience stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per store is $7.8M, 2% below the U.S. figure of $7.9M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of convenience stores to household spending.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Spirit Lake area scores 78 for convenience stores (high), #35 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.