Fitness and classes · Metro area · Iowa
Martial arts and dance studios in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for martial arts and dance studios in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #59 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 17
- 1 chain location (6%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $57.4M
- On memberships, classes and admissions · $827 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 67% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.4
- 51% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the martial arts and dance studios around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
The site report maps the martial arts and dance studios 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
At $827 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area spend about $57.4M a year on memberships, classes and admissions. That is about $3.4M of household spending for each studio on map listings, 67% above the U.S. figure of $2M. The spending figure covers all memberships, classes and admissions, not only martial arts and dance studios.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 17 martial arts and dance studios on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (6%) is a chain location, against 7% across the U.S. That is 2.4 per 10,000 households, 51% below the U.S. rate of 4.9.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction. That is one for every 4,957 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.3M have gone to businesses classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area grew 0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for martial arts and dance studios in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is 65 (upper middle), #59 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all memberships, classes and admissions by the martial arts and dance studios 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 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.4 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $2M | $2M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,957 | 4,400 | 3,473 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.2% | +11.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on memberships, classes and admissions | $827 | $890 | $983 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 65 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 110
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $623K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 171 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 28The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $1.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction 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 martial arts and dance studios 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 cardMartial arts and dance studios across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for martial arts and dance studios, 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 | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 65 | 17 | 2.4 | $3.4M | +0.5% | #59 of 387 |
| 2Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 60 | 147 | 5.0 | $2.1M | +6.7% | #100 of 387 |
| 3Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 54 | 69 | 4.3 | $2M | −0.9% | #146 of 387 |
| 4Iowa City, IA | 52 | 34 | 4.7 | $2M | +4.1% | #165 of 387 |
| 5Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 52 | 24 | 4.3 | $2M | +1.0% | #167 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 51 | 208 | 5.3 | $1.9M | +4.2% | #175 of 387 |
| 6Dubuque, IA | 49 | 18 | 4.4 | $2.1M | +0.1% | #192 of 387 |
| 7Cedar Rapids, IA | 49 | 53 | 4.6 | $2M | +1.0% | #195 of 387 |
| 8Ames, IA | 44 | 24 | 4.8 | $1.9M | +2.2% | #250 of 387 |
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
- Gyms, studios and classes58
- Gyms51
- Yoga, Pilates and fitness studios50
- Martial arts and dance studios65
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many martial arts and dance studios are in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 martial arts and dance studios in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. One of them (6%) is a chain location. The listings count martial arts and dance studios. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as sports, recreation and fine arts instruction in 2023.
How much do households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on memberships, classes and admissions?
About $57.4M a year, or $827 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 martial arts and dance studios on map listings, it comes to $3.4M per studio. That spending covers all memberships, classes and admissions, which martial arts and dance studios share with other businesses in the trade. 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 martial arts and dance studios?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 2.4 martial arts and dance studios per 10,000 households, 51% below the U.S. rate of 4.9. Spending per studio is $3.4M, 67% above the U.S. figure of $2M. At the U.S. ratio of martial arts and dance studios to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 28, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,957 households, against one for every 3,473 across the U.S.
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 65 for martial arts and dance studios (upper middle), #59 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. It maps the martial arts and dance studios 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 martial arts and dance studios · 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.