Real estate · Metro area · Iowa
Home inspectors in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for home inspectors: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #226 of 243 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 5
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $946.5M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,639 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 72
- 28% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.7
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the home inspectors around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
The site report maps the home inspectors 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 27 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for home inspectors, ranking #226 of 243 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
At $13,639 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area spend about $946.5M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per business is 28% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money home inspectors take in.
There are 5 home inspectors on map listings in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 3% across the U.S. That comes to 0.7 for every 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 0.6.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for building inspection services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates put the population change in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 72 | 100 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 27,411 | 17,237 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −7.7% | +6.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,639 | $14,016 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 27 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 50 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The 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 building inspection services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 169,189+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,396
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,503 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,811+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,709
- Median home value
- $194,800
- Jobs located here
- 88,619
- Daytime population
- 179,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 home inspectors on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHome inspectors across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for home inspectors, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 61 | 5 | 0.3 | 171 | −0.9% | #59 of 243 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 61 | 23 | 0.6 | 96 | +4.2% | #65 of 243 |
| 2Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 55 | 19 | 0.6 | 88 | +6.7% | #94 of 243 |
| 3Iowa City, IA | 54 | 5 | 0.7 | 79 | +4.1% | #106 of 243 |
| 4Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 27 | 5 | 0.7 | 72 | +0.5% | #226 of 243 |
| 5Cedar Rapids, IA | 27 | 10 | 0.9 | 62 | +1.0% | #228 of 243 |
Other business types in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate54
- Real estate agents and brokers53
- Property management44
- Mortgage brokers and lenders60
- Home inspectors27
Funeral services
Questions
How many home inspectors are in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 5 home inspectors in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. No official count is published for building inspection services in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $946.5M a year, or $13,639 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 5 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 28% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money home inspectors take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,396 households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 0.7 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 72, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of home inspectors to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 4, against 5 on map listings.
How fast is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area at 169,189 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,396 households. The median household income in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is $70,811 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 27 for home inspectors (lower middle), #226 of 243 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. It maps the home inspectors 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 home inspectors · All 56 business types in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.