Health care · Metro area · Iowa
Medical and dental practices in the Ames, IA metro area
How the Ames, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for medical and dental practices: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 80 out of 100: High
Ranked #11 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 268
- 38 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 135
- +11.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $70.2M
- On medical and dental services · $1,409 a household
- Spending per listing
- $262K
- 72% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 53.8
- 36% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the medical and dental practices around any address in the Ames metro area
The site report maps the medical and dental practices 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 Ames 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 Groundwork market score for medical and dental practices in the Ames metro area is 80 (high), #11 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for medical and dental practices.
As of September 2026, map listings count 268 medical and dental practices in the Ames metro area. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 11% across the U.S. That is 53.8 per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 84.5.
Households in the Ames metro area spend about $70.2M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,409 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. That works out to $262K per practice, 72% above the U.S. figure of $152K.
Official counts show 135 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Ames metro area in 2023, up 11.8% from 2019. That is one for every 369 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Ames metro area grew 2.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ames metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the medical and dental practices 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 | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 53.8 | 83.7 | 84.5 |
| Spending per listing | $262K | $169K | $152K |
| Households per official establishment | 369 | 342 | 270 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.8% | +0.7% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,409 | $1,412 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 80 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 135+11.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,787
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $175.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 26Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 26838 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 461The 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 offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Ames 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 Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 medical and dental practices on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Ames metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardDoctors, dentists and clinics across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for medical and dental practices, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ames, IA | 80 | 268 | 53.8 | $262K | +2.2% | #11 of 387 |
| 2Iowa City, IA | 77 | 523 | 72.3 | $200K | +4.1% | #27 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 75 | 3,071 | 78.8 | $192K | +4.2% | #32 of 387 |
| 3Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 62 | 3,180 | 107.9 | $142K | +6.7% | #105 of 387 |
| 4Dubuque, IA | 52 | 356 | 86.9 | $164K | +0.1% | #172 of 387 |
| 5Cedar Rapids, IA | 52 | 1,211 | 106.2 | $136K | +1.0% | #177 of 387 |
| 6Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 51 | 1,393 | 86.1 | $162K | −0.9% | #185 of 387 |
| 7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 45 | 523 | 94.3 | $147K | +1.0% | #227 of 387 |
| 8Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 41 | 891 | 128.4 | $106K | +0.5% | #269 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ames 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
- Doctors, dentists and clinics80
- Dentists and orthodontists80
- Primary care and pediatrics84
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors27
- Physical therapy60
- Optometrists and eye care79
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many medical and dental practices are in the Ames, IA metro area?
The Ames metro area has 268 medical and dental practices on map listings as of September 2026. 38 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 135 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, up 11.8% from 2019. Another 26 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $70.2M a year, or $1,409 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 268 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $262K per practice. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for medical and dental practices?
The Ames metro area has 53.8 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $262K, 72% above the U.S. figure of $152K. At the national ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 461, against 268 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 369 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ames metro area scores 80 for medical and dental practices (high), #11 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 Ames metro area. It maps the medical and dental practices 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 medical and dental practices · All 56 business types in the Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.