Groceries and convenience · County · Iowa
Grocery stores in Palo Alto County, IA
The grocery stores in Palo Alto County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 6
- 2 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $22.3M
- On groceries · $5,909 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 60% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.9
- 2.3 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,899
- −1.0% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 grocery stores in Palo Alto County. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 15.9, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 6.8.
Households in Palo Alto County spend about $22.3M a year on groceries, or $5,909 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.7M per store, 60% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in Palo Alto County was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 1,261 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Population estimates show Palo Alto County declined 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Palo Alto 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.
| Measure | Palo Alto County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.9 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $8.8M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,261 | 2,139 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,909 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $72,781 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3 → 3
- Employees, 2023
- 121
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 62 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2The 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,899−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,782
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 564 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 16
- Median household income
- $72,781
- Average household income
- $89,684
- Median home value
- $123,200
- Jobs located here
- 3,528
- Daytime population
- 8,293Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County. 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 counties in Iowa for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Palo Alto County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warren County, IA | 93 | 5 | 2.4 | $26.7M | +9.0% | #24 of 2,070 |
| 2Dallas County, IA | 92 | 18 | 4.2 | $16M | +17.8% | #37 of 2,070 |
| 3Linn County, IA | 71 | 52 | 5.4 | $11.3M | +0.7% | #382 of 2,070 |
| 4Pottawattamie County, IA | 70 | 14 | 3.7 | $16M | −0.7% | #401 of 2,070 |
| 5Scott County, IA | 70 | 35 | 4.8 | $12.8M | +0.4% | #405 of 2,070 |
| 6Boone County, IA | 69 | 5 | 4.6 | $13.5M | +0.4% | #428 of 2,070 |
| 7Benton County, IA | 67 | 7 | 6.9 | $9.1M | +1.8% | #489 of 2,070 |
| 8Dubuque County, IA | 66 | 20 | 4.9 | $12.4M | +0.1% | #502 of 2,070 |
| 9Bremer County, IA | 66 | 5 | 5.1 | $12.1M | +1.1% | #503 of 2,070 |
| 10Marion County, IA | 64 | 7 | 5.3 | $11.6M | +2.3% | #564 of 2,070 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | Not scored | 6 | 15.9 | $3.7M | −1.0% |
Other business types in Palo Alto County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores
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 Palo Alto County, IA?
There are 6 grocery stores on map listings in Palo Alto County as of September 2026. 2 of them (33%) are chain locations. 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 Palo Alto County, IA spend on groceries?
About $22.3M a year, or $5,909 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $3.7M per store. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,782 households in Palo Alto County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Palo Alto County, IA compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
Palo Alto County has 15.9 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $3.7M, 60% below the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the national ratio of grocery stores to household spending, Palo Alto County would have about 2, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,261 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is Palo Alto County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Palo Alto County at 8,899 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,782 households. Median household income in Palo Alto County is $72,781, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.