Groceries and convenience · County · Iowa
Grocery and convenience stores in Story County, IA
The grocery and convenience stores in Story County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 77 out of 100: High
Ranked #240 of 2,402 scored counties
#5 of 72 scored counties in Iowa
- Listings
- 53
- 25 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 18
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $232.2M
- On groceries · $5,967 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.4M
- 29% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.6
- 27% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 101,291
- +2.7% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in Story 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 Story County. 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
The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in Story County is 77 (high), #240 of 2,402 scored counties and #5 of 72 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for grocery and convenience stores.
As of September 2026, map listings count 53 grocery and convenience stores in Story County. Chain locations make up 47% of them, against 42% across the U.S. That comes to 13.6 for every 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 18.7.
At $5,967 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Story County spend about $232.2M a year on groceries. That is about $4.4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 29% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in Story County was 18 in 2023. That is one for every 2,161 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Population estimates show Story County grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Story 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.
| Measure | Story County | 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 | 2,161 | 1,810 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.2% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,967 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $69,685 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 77 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 16 → 18
- Employees, 2023
- 1,400
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $25.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5325 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 69The 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 Story 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 Story County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 101,291+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 38,904
- Median age
- 33.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 56%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 573 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 175
- Median household income
- $69,685+22.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,918
- Median home value
- $258,700
- Jobs located here
- 47,997
- Daytime population
- 107,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Story 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 Story County. 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 counties in Iowa for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Story County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dallas County, IA | 95 | 54 | 12.7 | $5.3M | +17.8% | #13 of 2,402 |
| 2Warren County, IA | 93 | 29 | 14.0 | $4.6M | +9.0% | #26 of 2,402 |
| 3Johnson County, IA | 82 | 91 | 14.4 | $4.3M | +4.6% | #147 of 2,402 |
| 4Boone County, IA | 78 | 15 | 13.7 | $4.5M | +0.4% | #219 of 2,402 |
| 5Story County, IA | 77 | 53 | 13.6 | $4.4M | +2.7% | #240 of 2,402 |
| 6Polk County, IA | 77 | 354 | 17.2 | $3.6M | +4.8% | #252 of 2,402 |
| 7Linn County, IA | 76 | 144 | 15.1 | $4.1M | +0.7% | #266 of 2,402 |
| 8Bremer County, IA | 73 | 17 | 17.5 | $3.5M | +1.1% | #363 of 2,402 |
| 9Pottawattamie County, IA | 72 | 49 | 13.0 | $4.6M | −0.7% | #380 of 2,402 |
| 10Madison County, IA | 72 | 14 | 20.9 | $3M | +3.8% | #397 of 2,402 |
Other business types in Story County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores77
- Grocery stores55
- Convenience stores83
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 Story County, IA?
Story County has 53 grocery and convenience stores on map listings as of September 2026. 25 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Story County, IA spend on groceries?
About $232.2M a year, or $5,967 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $4.4M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 38,904 households in Story County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Story County, IA compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
Story County 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, 29% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the national ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, Story County would have about 69, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,161 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is Story County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Story County at 101,291 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 38,904 households. Median household income in Story County is $69,685, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.8%, 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. Story County scores 77 for grocery and convenience stores (high), #240 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Story 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 Story County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Story 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 Story 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.