Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Iowa
Grocery and convenience stores in the Mason City, IA area
How the Mason City, 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 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #269 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 52
- 28 chain locations (54%)
- Official establishments
- 13
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $133.2M
- On groceries · $5,866 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.6M
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.9
- 22% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 49,710
- −1.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Mason City 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 Mason City 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
Household spending on groceries in the Mason City area comes to about $133.2M a year: $5,866 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 24% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 52 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Mason City area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 54% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That is 22.9 per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Mason City area was 13 in 2023. That is one for every 1,747 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show the Mason City area declined 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Mason City area is 52 (upper middle), #269 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Mason City 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 | Mason City area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 22.9 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.6M | $3.2M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,747 | 1,810 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,866 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $68,926 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 13
- Employees, 2023
- 819
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $14.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5228 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 39The 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 Mason City 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 Mason City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 49,710−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 22,716
- Median age
- 45.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 968 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 52
- Median household income
- $68,926+26.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,964
- Median home value
- $162,900
- Jobs located here
- 24,592
- Daytime population
- 51,205Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Mason City 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 Mason City 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 Mason City 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 |
| 12Mason City, IA | 52 | 52 | 22.9 | $2.6M | −1.5% | #269 of 538 |
Other business types in the Mason City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores52
- Grocery stores41
- Convenience stores47
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 Mason City, IA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 52 grocery and convenience stores in the Mason City area. 28 of them (54%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts list 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Mason City, IA area spend on groceries?
About $133.2M a year, or $5,866 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 52 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.6M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,716 households in the Mason City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Mason City, IA area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Mason City area has 22.9 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.6M, 24% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Mason City area would have about 39, against 52 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,747 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the Mason City, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Mason City area at 49,710 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,716 households. The median household income in the Mason City area is $68,926 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.7% 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. 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 Mason City area scores 52 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #269 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 Mason City 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 Mason City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mason City 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 Mason City 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.