Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Iowa
Grocery stores in the Ames, IA metro area
How the Ames, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #238 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 34
- 15 chain locations (44%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $299.6M
- On groceries · $6,012 a household
- Spending per listing
- $8.8M
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.8
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Ames metro area
The site report maps the grocery 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 Ames metro 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 34 grocery stores in the Ames metro area. Chain locations make up 44% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.8, in line with the U.S. rate of 6.8.
Households in the Ames metro area spend about $299.6M a year on groceries, or $6,012 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $8.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 5% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 19 businesses with payroll in the Ames metro area classed as supermarkets and grocery stores. That is one for every 2,623 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ames metro area grew 2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Ames metro area scores 44 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #238 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Ames metro 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 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 | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $8.8M | $8.8M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,623 | 2,139 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $6,012 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 44 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19
- Employees, 2023
- 1,664
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $31.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3415 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 32The 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 supermarkets and grocery stores in the Ames metro 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 Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the grocery stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery stores across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 70 | 216 | 5.5 | $11.4M | +4.2% | #60 of 387 |
| 1Cedar Rapids, IA | 63 | 66 | 5.8 | $10.6M | +1.0% | #97 of 387 |
| 2Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 63 | 181 | 6.1 | $10.3M | +6.7% | #99 of 387 |
| 3Dubuque, IA | 61 | 20 | 4.9 | $12.4M | +0.1% | #113 of 387 |
| 4Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 46 | 91 | 5.6 | $10.6M | −0.9% | #222 of 387 |
| 5Ames, IA | 44 | 34 | 6.8 | $8.8M | +2.2% | #238 of 387 |
| 6Iowa City, IA | 41 | 53 | 7.3 | $8.3M | +4.1% | #255 of 387 |
| 7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 38 | 33 | 5.9 | $10M | +1.0% | #271 of 387 |
| 8Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 31 | 44 | 6.3 | $9.3M | +0.5% | #314 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ames metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores73
- Grocery stores44
- Convenience stores77
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 stores are in the Ames, IA metro area?
The Ames metro area has 34 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 15 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on groceries?
About $299.6M a year, or $6,012 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 34 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $8.8M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Ames metro area has 6.8 grocery stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $8.8M, 5% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 32, against 34 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,623 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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. The Ames metro area scores 44 for grocery stores (lower middle), #238 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ames metro area. It maps the grocery 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 stores · All 56 business types in the Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames metro 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 Ames metro 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.