Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Iowa
Grocery and convenience stores in the Clinton, IA area
How the Clinton, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #184 of 538 scored small-town markets
#8 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 33
- 13 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $113.9M
- On groceries · $5,841 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.5M
- 2% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 16.9
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 46,002
- −0.9% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Clinton 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 Clinton 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 33 grocery and convenience stores in the Clinton area. 13 of them (39%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 16.9 for every 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Households in the Clinton area spend about $113.9M a year on groceries, or $5,841 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 33 grocery and convenience stores, that is $3.5M per store, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the Clinton area classed as grocery and convenience stores. That is one for every 1,393 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 7 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Clinton area declined 0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For grocery and convenience stores, the Clinton area has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #184 of 538 scored small-town markets and #8 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Clinton 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 | Clinton area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 16.9 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.5M | $3.2M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,393 | 1,810 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.9% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,841 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $66,981 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 708
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 7Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3313 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 34The 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 Clinton 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 Clinton area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 46,002−0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 19,506
- Median age
- 42.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 695 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 67
- Median household income
- $66,981+29.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $88,373
- Median home value
- $160,600
- Jobs located here
- 19,215
- Daytime population
- 42,953Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Clinton 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Clinton 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 small-town markets in Iowa for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Clinton area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 79 | 26 | 19.5 | $3.1M | +2.3% | #22 of 538 |
| 2Le Mars, IA | 78 | 20 | 19.4 | $3.2M | 0.0% | #27 of 538 |
| 3Ottumwa, IA | 68 | 23 | 16.4 | $3.5M | −0.3% | #98 of 538 |
| 4Spirit Lake, IA | 67 | 20 | 22.6 | $2.7M | +1.7% | #111 of 538 |
| 5Fort Madison, IA | 62 | 23 | 16.1 | $3.5M | −3.6% | #155 of 538 |
| 6Muscatine, IA | 61 | 32 | 18.4 | $3.2M | −3.0% | #165 of 538 |
| 7Fort Dodge, IA | 61 | 31 | 20.2 | $2.8M | −0.4% | #169 of 538 |
| 8Clinton, IA | 59 | 33 | 16.9 | $3.5M | −0.9% | #184 of 538 |
| 9Burlington, IA-IL | 58 | 25 | 12.6 | $4.5M | −2.5% | #193 of 538 |
| 10Oskaloosa, IA | 57 | 20 | 22.9 | $2.5M | −1.2% | #219 of 538 |
Other business types in the Clinton area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores59
- Grocery stores67
- Convenience stores51
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 Clinton, IA area?
The Clinton area has 33 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 13 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 7 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Clinton, IA area spend on groceries?
About $113.9M a year, or $5,841 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.5M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,506 households in the Clinton area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Clinton, IA area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Clinton area has 16.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.5M, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Clinton area would have about 34, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,393 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Clinton, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Clinton area at 46,002 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,506 households. Median household income in the Clinton area is $66,981, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.6%, 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 Clinton area scores 59 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #184 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Clinton 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 Clinton area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Clinton 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 Clinton 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.