Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Iowa

Grocery and convenience stores in Dallas County, IA

How Dallas 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 95 out of 100: Very high

Ranked #13 of 2,402 scored counties
#1 of 72 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
54
33 chain locations (61%)
Official establishments
16
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$288.3M
On groceries · $6,788 a household
Spending per listing
$5.3M
58% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.7
32% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
118,457
+17.8% since 2020

See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Dallas 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 Dallas 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

Dallas County scores 95 (very high) on the Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores, ranking #13 of 2,402 scored counties and #1 of 72 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for grocery and convenience stores.

Household spending on groceries in Dallas County comes to about $288.3M a year: $6,788 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. Spread across 54 grocery and convenience stores, that is $5.3M per store, 58% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.

There are 54 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in Dallas County as of September 2026. 33 of them (61%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.7, 32% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.

Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Dallas County in 2023. That is one for every 2,654 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.6M has gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Dallas County. Population estimates put the population change in Dallas County from 2020 to 2025 at +17.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Dallas 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 Dallas County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureDallas CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.718.718.7
Spending per listing$5.3M$3.2M$3.4M
Households per official establishment2,6541,8101,293
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.2%+7.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+17.8%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,788$6,036$6,319
Median household income$102,379$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score9550

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
17 → 16
Employees, 2023
1,831
Annual payroll, 2023
$36.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
18Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5433 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
85The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in Dallas 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 Dallas County

Population, 2025 estimate
118,457+17.8% since 2020
Households
42,471
Median age
36.8
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
588 sq. mi.
People per square mile
184
Median household income
$102,379+15.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$137,324
Median home value
$355,600
Jobs located here
53,926
Daytime population
106,998Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dallas 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 Dallas County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Dallas 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

Other business types in Dallas County

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

Questions

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 54 grocery and convenience stores in Dallas County. 33 of them (61%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 18 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $288.3M a year, or $6,788 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 54 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $5.3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 42,471 households in Dallas County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Dallas County has 12.7 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $5.3M, 58% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Dallas County would have about 85, against 54 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,654 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.

How fast is Dallas County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Dallas County at 118,457 people in 2025, up 17.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,471 households. The median household income in Dallas County is $102,379 a year, 27% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 15.7% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Dallas County scores 95 for grocery and convenience stores (very high), #13 of 2,402 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dallas 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 Dallas County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dallas 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 Dallas 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.