Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Iowa

Grocery and convenience stores in Benton County, IA

How Benton County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #679 of 2,402 scored counties
#17 of 72 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
21
8 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$63.6M
On groceries · $6,238 a household
Spending per listing
$3M
11% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
20.6
10% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
26,004
+1.8% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Benton County

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 Benton County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 21 grocery and convenience stores in Benton County. Chain locations make up 38% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 20.6 per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Household spending on groceries in Benton County comes to about $63.6M a year: $6,238 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $3M of household spending for each store on map listings, 11% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Benton County in 2023. That is one for every 1,700 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $725K has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Benton County.

Population estimates show Benton County grew 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Benton County is 63 (upper middle), #679 of 2,402 scored counties and #17 of 72 scored counties in Iowa.

How Benton County 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.

Grocery and convenience stores in Benton County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureBenton CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households20.618.718.7
Spending per listing$3M$3.2M$3.4M
Households per official establishment1,7001,8101,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.2%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,238$6,036$6,319
Median household income$86,962$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6350

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 6
Employees, 2023
119
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
0Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
218 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$725K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Benton 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.

Population and households in Benton County

Population, 2025 estimate
26,004+1.8% since 2020
Households
10,202
Median age
43.4
Homes lived in by their owners
85%
Vehicles per household
2.4
Land area
716 sq. mi.
People per square mile
36
Median household income
$86,962+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,158
Median home value
$208,200
Jobs located here
5,505
Daytime population
17,562Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Benton 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Grocery and convenience stores across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Benton County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for grocery and convenience stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Dallas County, IA955412.7$5.3M+17.8%#13 of 2,402
2Warren County, IA932914.0$4.6M+9.0%#26 of 2,402
3Johnson County, IA829114.4$4.3M+4.6%#147 of 2,402
4Boone County, IA781513.7$4.5M+0.4%#219 of 2,402
5Story County, IA775313.6$4.4M+2.7%#240 of 2,402
6Polk County, IA7735417.2$3.6M+4.8%#252 of 2,402
7Linn County, IA7614415.1$4.1M+0.7%#266 of 2,402
8Bremer County, IA731717.5$3.5M+1.1%#363 of 2,402
9Pottawattamie County, IA724913.0$4.6M−0.7%#380 of 2,402
10Madison County, IA721420.9$3M+3.8%#397 of 2,402
17Benton County, IA632120.6$3M+1.8%#679 of 2,402

Other business types in Benton County

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

Questions

How many grocery and convenience stores are in Benton County, IA?

Benton County has 21 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023.

How much do households in Benton County, IA spend on groceries?

About $63.6M a year, or $6,238 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,202 households in Benton County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Benton County, IA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?

Benton County has 20.6 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3M, 11% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Benton County would have about 19, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,700 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Benton County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Benton County at 26,004 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 10,202 households. Median household income in Benton County is $86,962, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.4%, 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. Benton County scores 63 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #679 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Benton County. 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 Benton County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Benton 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 Benton 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.