Groceries and convenience · Small-town market · Iowa
Grocery stores in the Spencer, IA area
The grocery stores in the Spencer, IA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
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
- $42M
- On groceries · $5,766 a household
- Spending per listing
- $14M
- 51% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.1
- 40% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 16,202
- −0.8% since 2020
See the grocery stores around any address in the Spencer 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 Spencer 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
Household spending on groceries in the Spencer area comes to about $42M a year: $5,766 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 3 grocery stores, that is $14M per store, 51% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.
The Spencer area has 3 grocery stores on map listings as of September 2026. That is 4.1 per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Spencer area in 2023. That is one for every 2,427 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Spencer area declined 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 3 grocery stores on map listings, the Spencer area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How the Spencer 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 | Spencer area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.1 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Spending per listing | $14M | $8.8M | $9.3M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,427 | 2,139 | 2,053 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.4% | 0.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,766 | $6,036 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $65,428 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 337
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.1M
- 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
- 5The 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 Spencer 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 Spencer area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 16,202−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 7,282
- Median age
- 43.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 567 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 29
- Median household income
- $65,428+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,614
- Median home value
- $178,600
- Jobs located here
- 8,325
- Daytime population
- 16,701Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spencer area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Spencer 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 small-town markets in Iowa for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spencer area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 71 | 7 | 5.3 | $11.6M | +2.3% | #65 of 506 |
| 2Clinton, IA | 67 | 9 | 4.6 | $12.7M | −0.9% | #93 of 506 |
| 3Muscatine, IA | 63 | 10 | 5.8 | $10.2M | −3.0% | #124 of 506 |
| 4Le Mars, IA | 60 | 9 | 8.7 | $7.1M | 0.0% | #160 of 506 |
| 5Burlington, IA-IL | 57 | 9 | 4.5 | $12.5M | −2.5% | #182 of 506 |
| 6Fort Dodge, IA | 57 | 9 | 5.9 | $9.8M | −0.4% | #188 of 506 |
| 7Ottumwa, IA | 54 | 9 | 6.4 | $8.8M | −0.3% | #230 of 506 |
| 8Fort Madison, IA | 48 | 8 | 5.6 | $10.1M | −3.6% | #281 of 506 |
| 9Oskaloosa, IA | 48 | 6 | 6.9 | $8.5M | −1.2% | #283 of 506 |
| 10Spirit Lake, IA | 47 | 8 | 9.0 | $6.8M | +1.7% | #298 of 506 |
| Spencer, IA | Not scored | 3 | 4.1 | $14M | −0.8% |
Other business types in the Spencer area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores46
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores37
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 Spencer, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 grocery stores in the Spencer area. 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 the Spencer, IA area spend on groceries?
About $42M a year, or $5,766 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $14M 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 7,282 households in the Spencer area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spencer, IA area compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?
The Spencer area has 4.1 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $14M, 51% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Spencer area would have about 5, against 3 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,427 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spencer, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spencer area at 16,202 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,282 households. The median household income in the Spencer area is $65,428 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Spencer area 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 the Spencer 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 Spencer area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spencer 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 Spencer 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.