Food and drink · County · Iowa
Fast food and sandwich shops in Palo Alto County, IA
How Palo Alto County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 3
- 3 chain locations (100%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $14.1M
- On food away from home · $3,728 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 54% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.9
- 41% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,899
- −1.0% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Palo Alto County
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 Palo Alto 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 $3,728 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in Palo Alto County spend about $14.1M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.7M per shop, 54% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Palo Alto County has 3 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. That is 7.9 per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Palo Alto County in 2023. That is one for every 540 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.
Population estimates show Palo Alto County declined 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Palo Alto County 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 | Palo Alto County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.9 | 12.2 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $3.2M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 540 | 628 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,728 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $72,781 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5 → 7All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 113
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 33 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 limited-service restaurants in Palo Alto 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. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in Palo Alto County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,899−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,782
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 564 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 16
- Median household income
- $72,781
- Average household income
- $89,684
- Median home value
- $123,200
- Jobs located here
- 3,528
- Daytime population
- 8,293Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Palo Alto 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 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Palo Alto County. 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 counties in Iowa for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Palo Alto County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Madison County, IA | 89 | 5 | 7.5 | $5.6M | +3.8% | #22 of 2,222 |
| 2Warren County, IA | 88 | 21 | 10.2 | $4.3M | +9.0% | #33 of 2,222 |
| 3Jones County, IA | 84 | 6 | 7.3 | $5.1M | +2.9% | #71 of 2,222 |
| 4Dallas County, IA | 83 | 50 | 11.8 | $4M | +17.8% | #89 of 2,222 |
| 5Bremer County, IA | 80 | 9 | 9.3 | $4.3M | +1.1% | #128 of 2,222 |
| 6Buchanan County, IA | 79 | 7 | 8.5 | $4.4M | +1.3% | #149 of 2,222 |
| 7Delaware County, IA | 78 | 5 | 6.8 | $5.6M | +1.3% | #156 of 2,222 |
| 8Boone County, IA | 78 | 11 | 10.1 | $4M | +0.4% | #169 of 2,222 |
| 9Winneshiek County, IA | 73 | 7 | 8.6 | $4.5M | −1.6% | #275 of 2,222 |
| 10Jackson County, IA | 73 | 7 | 8.5 | $4.4M | −0.8% | #276 of 2,222 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | Not scored | 3 | 7.9 | $4.7M | −1.0% |
Other business types in Palo Alto County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes
- Sit-down restaurants
- Fast food and sandwich shops
- Pizza
- Coffee shops and cafes
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Palo Alto County, IA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 fast food and sandwich shops in Palo Alto County. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too.
How much do households in Palo Alto County, IA spend on food away from home?
About $14.1M a year, or $3,728 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 3,782 households in Palo Alto County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Palo Alto County, IA compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
Palo Alto County has 7.9 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 54% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Palo Alto County would have about 5, against 3 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 540 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is Palo Alto County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Palo Alto County at 8,899 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,782 households. Median household income in Palo Alto County is $72,781, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Palo Alto County. 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 Palo Alto County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.