Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Iowa

Grocery stores in Cherokee County, IA

How Cherokee County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.

Listings
3
2 chain locations (67%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$29.8M
On groceries · $5,908 a household
Spending per listing
$9.9M
7% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
11,369
−2.4% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in Cherokee County

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 Cherokee 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 3 grocery stores in Cherokee County. That is 5.9 per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

At $5,908 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in Cherokee County spend about $29.8M a year on groceries. Spread across 3 grocery stores, that is $9.9M per store, 7% above 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 3 businesses with payroll in Cherokee County classed as supermarkets and grocery stores. That is one for every 1,682 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Cherokee County declined 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 3 grocery stores on map listings, Cherokee County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Cherokee 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 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 Cherokee County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureCherokee CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.96.86.8
Spending per listing$9.9M$8.8M$9.3M
Households per official establishment1,6822,1392,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−1.4%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.4%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$5,908$6,036$6,319
Median household income$71,269$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored37

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 3
Employees, 2023
270
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
32 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3The 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County

Population, 2025 estimate
11,369−2.4% since 2020
Households
5,045
Median age
44.8
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
577 sq. mi.
People per square mile
20
Median household income
$71,269+26.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,726
Median home value
$158,700
Jobs located here
4,572
Daytime population
10,108Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cherokee 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Cherokee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery stores across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Cherokee County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, IA9352.4$26.7M+9.0%#24 of 2,070
2Dallas County, IA92184.2$16M+17.8%#37 of 2,070
3Linn County, IA71525.4$11.3M+0.7%#382 of 2,070
4Pottawattamie County, IA70143.7$16M−0.7%#401 of 2,070
5Scott County, IA70354.8$12.8M+0.4%#405 of 2,070
6Boone County, IA6954.6$13.5M+0.4%#428 of 2,070
7Benton County, IA6776.9$9.1M+1.8%#489 of 2,070
8Dubuque County, IA66204.9$12.4M+0.1%#502 of 2,070
9Bremer County, IA6655.1$12.1M+1.1%#503 of 2,070
10Marion County, IA6475.3$11.6M+2.3%#564 of 2,070
Cherokee County, IANot scored35.9$9.9M−2.4%

Other business types in Cherokee County

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

Questions

How many grocery stores are in Cherokee County, IA?

Cherokee County has 3 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

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

About $29.8M a year, or $5,908 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $9.9M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,045 households in Cherokee County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cherokee County, IA compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

Cherokee County has 5.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $9.9M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,682 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is Cherokee County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Cherokee County at 11,369 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,045 households. Median household income in Cherokee County is $71,269, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.0%, 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. Cherokee County has no market score for grocery stores: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cherokee County. 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 Cherokee County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.