Groundwork

Health care · Small-town market · Iowa

Dentists and orthodontists in the Spencer, IA area

How the Spencer, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for dentists and orthodontists: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #314 of 526 scored small-town markets
#12 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
8
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$9.6M
On medical and dental services · $1,321 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
22% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.0
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
16,202
−0.8% since 2020

See the dentists and orthodontists around any address in the Spencer area

The site report maps the dentists and orthodontists 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 Spencer 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 dentists and orthodontists in the Spencer area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.0, 16% below the U.S. rate of 13.1.

Household spending on medical and dental services in the Spencer area comes to about $9.6M a year: $1,321 per household, 3% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.2M per practice, 22% above the U.S. figure of $984K. That spending covers all medical and dental services, which dentists and orthodontists share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Spencer area classed as offices of dentists. That is one for every 1,214 households, against one for every 952 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Spencer area declined 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For dentists and orthodontists, the Spencer area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #314 of 526 scored small-town markets and #12 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Spencer area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the dentists and orthodontists counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Dentists and orthodontists in Spencer, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureSpencer areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.09.513.1
Spending per listing$1.2M$1.5M$984K
Households per official establishment1,2141,277952
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.6%−0.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.8%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,321$1,412$1,288
Median household income$65,428$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score4479

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
65
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
80 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
10The 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 offices of dentists in the Spencer 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 Spencer area

Population, 2025 estimate
16,202−0.8% since 2020
Households
7,282
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
567 sq. mi.
People per square mile
29
Median household income
$65,428+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,614
Median home value
$178,600
Jobs located here
8,325
Daytime population
16,701Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Spencer 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 dentists and orthodontists on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Dentists and orthodontists across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for dentists and orthodontists, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spencer area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for dentists and orthodontists by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Le Mars, IA7865.8$2.5M0.0%#31 of 526
2Oskaloosa, IA7155.7$2.3M−1.2%#65 of 526
3Clinton, IA64157.7$1.8M−0.9%#126 of 526
4Fort Madison, IA64117.7$1.7M−3.6%#132 of 526
5Ottumwa, IA55128.6$1.5M−0.3%#220 of 526
6Spirit Lake, IA541112.4$1.2M+1.7%#227 of 526
7Pella, IA502216.5$866K+2.3%#262 of 526
8Fort Dodge, IA49138.5$1.6M−0.4%#264 of 526
9Burlington, IA-IL46199.6$1.3M−2.5%#294 of 526
10Marshalltown, IA461711.0$1.2M−0.5%#295 of 526
12Spencer, IA44811.0$1.2M−0.8%#314 of 526

Other business types in the Spencer area

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

Questions

How many dentists and orthodontists are in the Spencer, IA area?

There are 8 dentists and orthodontists on map listings in the Spencer area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count dental practices, orthodontists included. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as offices of dentists in 2023.

How much do households in the Spencer, IA area spend on medical and dental services?

About $9.6M a year, or $1,321 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 dentists and orthodontists on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per practice. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only dentists and orthodontists. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,282 households in the Spencer area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Spencer, IA area compare with the U.S. for dentists and orthodontists?

The Spencer area has 11.0 dentists and orthodontists per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 13.1. Spending per practice is $1.2M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $984K. At the national ratio of dentists and orthodontists to household spending, the Spencer area would have about 10, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,214 households, against one for every 952 across the U.S.

How fast is the Spencer, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Spencer area at 16,202 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,282 households. The median household income in the Spencer area is $65,428 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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 Spencer area scores 44 for dentists and orthodontists (lower middle), #314 of 526 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Spencer area. It maps the dentists and orthodontists 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 dentists and orthodontists · All 56 business types in the Spencer area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spencer 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 Spencer 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.