Health care · County · Iowa
Medical and dental practices in Howard County, IA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for medical and dental practices in Howard County, IA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 21
- 1 chain location (5%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $5M
- On medical and dental services · $1,314 a household
- Spending per listing
- $236K
- 55% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 55.7
- 34% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,415
- −0.8% since 2020
See the medical and dental practices around any address in Howard County
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 Howard 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
Households in Howard County spend about $5M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,314 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. That works out to $236K per practice, 55% above the U.S. figure of $152K.
There are 21 medical and dental practices on map listings in Howard County as of September 2026. One of them (5%) is a chain location, against 11% across the U.S. That comes to 55.7 for every 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 84.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Howard County classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers. That is one for every 943 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in Howard County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.8%, 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 Howard County 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 | Howard County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 55.7 | 83.7 | 84.5 |
| Spending per listing | $236K | $169K | $152K |
| Households per official establishment | 943 | 342 | 270 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +0.7% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,314 | $1,412 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $67,446 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4 → 4
- Employees, 2023
- 13
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $365K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 211 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The 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 Howard 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 Howard County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 9,415−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 3,773
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 473 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 20
- Median household income
- $67,446
- Average household income
- $87,621
- Median home value
- $147,800
- Jobs located here
- 4,105
- Daytime population
- 9,049Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Howard 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 medical and dental practices on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Howard County. 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 counties in Iowa for medical and dental practices, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Howard County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mills County, IA | 87 | 20 | 37.1 | $407K | +2.6% | #19 of 2,394 |
| 2Madison County, IA | 84 | 20 | 29.9 | $501K | +3.8% | #47 of 2,394 |
| 3Lyon County, IA | 80 | 17 | 38.0 | $371K | +3.6% | #105 of 2,394 |
| 4Mitchell County, IA | 78 | 18 | 39.2 | $350K | +0.6% | #125 of 2,394 |
| 5Guthrie County, IA | 78 | 23 | 50.0 | $287K | +1.6% | #129 of 2,394 |
| 6Buchanan County, IA | 77 | 35 | 42.4 | $324K | +1.3% | #155 of 2,394 |
| 7Warren County, IA | 77 | 112 | 54.2 | $286K | +9.0% | #161 of 2,394 |
| 8Allamakee County, IA | 76 | 21 | 35.3 | $377K | +1.2% | #172 of 2,394 |
| 9Clayton County, IA | 71 | 25 | 33.3 | $395K | −1.1% | #306 of 2,394 |
| 10Jasper County, IA | 71 | 63 | 42.0 | $325K | +0.9% | #317 of 2,394 |
| Howard County, IA | Not scored | 21 | 55.7 | $236K | −0.8% |
Other business types in Howard 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
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many medical and dental practices are in Howard County, IA?
As of September 2026, map listings count 21 medical and dental practices in Howard County. One of them (5%) is a chain location. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023.
How much do households in Howard County, IA spend on medical and dental services?
About $5M a year, or $1,314 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $236K per practice. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,773 households in Howard County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Howard County, IA compare with the U.S. for medical and dental practices?
Howard County has 55.7 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $236K, 55% above the U.S. figure of $152K. At the U.S. ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, Howard County would have about 33, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 943 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S.
How fast is Howard County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Howard County at 9,415 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,773 households. The median household income in Howard County is $67,446 a year, 16% 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 Howard County. 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 Howard County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Howard 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 Howard 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.