Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Iowa
Grocery and convenience stores in the Ames, IA metro area
How the Ames, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #41 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 68
- 33 chain locations (49%)
- Official establishments
- 22
- +10.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $299.6M
- On groceries · $6,012 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.4M
- 30% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.6
- 27% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Ames metro area
The site report maps the grocery and 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 Ames 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 68 grocery and convenience stores in the Ames metro area. Of those, 33 are chain locations, or 49%, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.6, 27% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in the Ames metro area spend about $299.6M a year on groceries, or $6,012 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 30% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Ames metro area was 22 in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,265 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 8 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show the Ames metro area grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery and convenience stores, the Ames metro area has a Groundwork market score of 73 (upper middle): #41 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Ames metro 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 grocery and 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 | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.6 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $4.4M | $3.2M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,265 | 1,810 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +10.0% | +5.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,012 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 22+10.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,674
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $31.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6833 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 88The 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 grocery and convenience stores in the Ames 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.
Population and households in the Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery and convenience stores across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 81 | 578 | 14.8 | $4.3M | +4.2% | #18 of 387 |
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 76 | 493 | 16.7 | $3.8M | +6.7% | #29 of 387 |
| 2Ames, IA | 73 | 68 | 13.6 | $4.4M | +2.2% | #41 of 387 |
| 3Iowa City, IA | 73 | 110 | 15.2 | $4M | +4.1% | #43 of 387 |
| 4Cedar Rapids, IA | 68 | 181 | 15.9 | $3.9M | +1.0% | #70 of 387 |
| 5Dubuque, IA | 58 | 68 | 16.6 | $3.7M | +0.1% | #140 of 387 |
| 6Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 49 | 274 | 16.9 | $3.5M | −0.9% | #207 of 387 |
| 7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 38 | 115 | 20.7 | $2.9M | +1.0% | #281 of 387 |
| 8Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 35 | 130 | 18.7 | $3.2M | +0.5% | #295 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ames metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores73
- Grocery stores44
- Convenience stores77
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Ames, IA metro area?
There are 68 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Ames metro area as of September 2026. 33 of them (49%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 10.0% from 2019. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on groceries?
About $299.6M a year, or $6,012 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 68 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Ames metro area has 13.6 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $4.4M, 30% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 88, against 68 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,265 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ames metro area scores 73 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #41 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 Ames metro area. It maps the grocery and 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 grocery and convenience stores · All 56 business types in the Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.