Food and drink · Metro area · Iowa
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Iowa City, IA metro area
How the Iowa City, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #111 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 106
- 94 chain locations (89%)
- Official establishments
- 126
- All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $288.8M
- On food away from home · $3,994 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 11% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.7
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 182,711
- +4.1% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Iowa City metro area
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops 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 Iowa City metro 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Iowa City metro area comes to about $288.8M a year: $3,994 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. Spread across 106 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.7M per shop, 11% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
The Iowa City metro area has 106 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 94 are chain locations, or 89%, against 79% across the U.S. That comes to 14.7 for every 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 13.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 126 businesses with payroll in the Iowa City metro area classed as limited-service restaurants, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 574 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts also show 26 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2.3M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Iowa City metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Iowa City metro area grew 4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For fast food and sandwich shops, the Iowa City metro area has a Groundwork market score of 64 (upper middle): #111 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Iowa City metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the fast food and sandwich shops 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 | Iowa City metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.7 | 12.2 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $3.2M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 574 | 628 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | −0.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,994 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $75,088 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 126All limited-service restaurants · 0.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,517
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $45.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 26All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10694 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 95The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $2.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Iowa City 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. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in the Iowa City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 182,711+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 72,313
- Median age
- 35.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,182 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 152
- Median household income
- $75,088+20.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $107,246
- Median home value
- $293,600
- Jobs located here
- 96,346
- Daytime population
- 190,647Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Iowa City 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 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Iowa City metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Iowa City metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 80 | 362 | 12.3 | $3.5M | +6.7% | #27 of 387 |
| 2Cedar Rapids, IA | 70 | 138 | 12.1 | $3.3M | +1.0% | #69 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 69 | 523 | 13.4 | $3.1M | +4.2% | #78 of 387 |
| 3Iowa City, IA | 64 | 106 | 14.7 | $2.7M | +4.1% | #111 of 387 |
| 4Ames, IA | 58 | 68 | 13.6 | $2.8M | +2.2% | #153 of 387 |
| 5Dubuque, IA | 56 | 59 | 14.4 | $2.7M | +0.1% | #160 of 387 |
| 6Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 55 | 89 | 12.8 | $2.9M | +0.5% | #166 of 387 |
| 7Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 45 | 221 | 13.7 | $2.8M | −0.9% | #227 of 387 |
| 8Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 39 | 93 | 16.8 | $2.3M | +1.0% | #267 of 387 |
Other business types in the Iowa City metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes42
- Sit-down restaurants43
- Fast food and sandwich shops64
- Pizza53
- Coffee shops and cafes38
- Bakeries and dessert shops44
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Iowa City, IA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 106 fast food and sandwich shops in the Iowa City metro area. 94 of them (89%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 126 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, unchanged from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Another 26 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Iowa City, IA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $288.8M a year, or $3,994 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 106 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 72,313 households in the Iowa City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Iowa City, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Iowa City metro area has 14.7 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.7M, 11% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Iowa City metro area would have about 95, against 106 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 574 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Iowa City, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Iowa City metro area at 182,711 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,313 households. Median household income in the Iowa City metro area is $75,088, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.1%, 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 Iowa City metro area scores 64 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #111 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 Iowa City metro area. It maps the fast food and sandwich shops 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 fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in the Iowa City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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.