Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Iowa

Grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #97 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa

Listings
66
29 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
35
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$699.1M
On groceries · $6,132 a household
Spending per listing
$10.6M
14% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.8
15% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
279,285
+1.0% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Cedar Rapids 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 Cedar Rapids metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 Cedar Rapids metro area comes to about $699.1M a year: $6,132 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $10.6M of household spending for each store on map listings, 14% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

The Cedar Rapids metro area has 66 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. 29 of them (44%) are chain locations, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.8, 15% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids metro area was 35 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 3,257 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $725K has gone to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids metro area.

Population estimates show the Cedar Rapids metro area grew 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Cedar Rapids metro area scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for grocery stores, ranking #97 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.

How the Cedar Rapids 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.

Grocery stores in Cedar Rapids, IA metro area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureCedar Rapids metro areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.86.86.8
Spending per listing$10.6M$8.8M$9.3M
Households per official establishment3,2572,1392,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%−1.4%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$6,132$6,036$6,319
Median household income$78,080$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6337

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
350.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,642
Annual payroll, 2023
$64.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
6629 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
75The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$725K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids 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 Cedar Rapids metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
279,285+1.0% since 2020
Households
114,000
Median age
40.4
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,009 sq. mi.
People per square mile
138
Median household income
$78,080+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,989
Median home value
$211,500
Jobs located here
142,164
Daytime population
283,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Cedar Rapids 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 Cedar Rapids metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Grocery 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 Cedar Rapids metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Omaha, NE-IA702165.5$11.4M+4.2%#60 of 387
1Cedar Rapids, IA63665.8$10.6M+1.0%#97 of 387
2Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA631816.1$10.3M+6.7%#99 of 387
3Dubuque, IA61204.9$12.4M+0.1%#113 of 387
4Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL46915.6$10.6M−0.9%#222 of 387
5Ames, IA44346.8$8.8M+2.2%#238 of 387
6Iowa City, IA41537.3$8.3M+4.1%#255 of 387
7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD38335.9$10M+1.0%#271 of 387
8Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA31446.3$9.3M+0.5%#314 of 387

Other business types in the Cedar Rapids metro area

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 66 grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids metro area. 29 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019.

How much do households in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area spend on groceries?

About $699.1M a year, or $6,132 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 66 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $10.6M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 114,000 households in the Cedar Rapids metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Cedar Rapids metro area has 5.8 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $10.6M, 14% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Cedar Rapids metro area would have about 75, against 66 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,257 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against 0.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Cedar Rapids metro area at 279,285 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 114,000 households. The median household income in the Cedar Rapids metro area is $78,080 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.7% 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. The Cedar Rapids metro area scores 63 for grocery stores (upper middle), #97 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 Cedar Rapids 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 Cedar Rapids metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cedar Rapids 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 Cedar Rapids 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.