Health care · Small-town market · Iowa
Medical and dental practices in the Spencer, IA area
How the Spencer, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for medical and dental practices: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #382 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 58
- 5 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 28
- −12.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $9.6M
- On medical and dental services · $1,321 a household
- Spending per listing
- $166K
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 79.6
- 6% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 16,202
- −0.8% since 2020
See the medical and dental practices around any address in the Spencer 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 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
At $1,321 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in the Spencer area spend about $9.6M a year on medical and dental services. That is about $166K of household spending for each practice on map listings, 9% above the U.S. figure of $152K.
The Spencer area has 58 medical and dental practices on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 9%, against 11% across the U.S. That comes to 79.6 for every 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 84.5.
Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Spencer area in 2023, down 12.5% from 2019. That is one for every 260 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Another 19 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $101K has gone to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Spencer area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Spencer area declined 0.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for medical and dental practices in the Spencer area is 38 (lower middle), #382 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
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 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 | Spencer area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 79.6 | 83.7 | 84.5 |
| Spending per listing | $166K | $169K | $152K |
| Households per official establishment | 260 | 342 | 270 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −12.5% | +0.7% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,321 | $1,412 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $65,428 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 28−12.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 341
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $30M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 19Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 585 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 63The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $101K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers 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 medical and dental practices 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 cardDoctors, dentists and clinics across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for medical and dental practices, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Le Mars, IA | 78 | 47 | 45.6 | $317K | 0.0% | #33 of 538 |
| 2Oskaloosa, IA | 75 | 41 | 46.9 | $283K | −1.2% | #48 of 538 |
| 3Spirit Lake, IA | 72 | 47 | 53.1 | $271K | +1.7% | #70 of 538 |
| 4Storm Lake, IA | 61 | 50 | 66.3 | $209K | −1.7% | #157 of 538 |
| 5Pella, IA | 61 | 99 | 74.3 | $192K | +2.3% | #162 of 538 |
| 6Ottumwa, IA | 58 | 97 | 69.3 | $183K | −0.3% | #196 of 538 |
| 7Fort Madison, IA | 56 | 65 | 45.4 | $281K | −3.6% | #210 of 538 |
| 8Burlington, IA-IL | 48 | 105 | 52.8 | $243K | −2.5% | #284 of 538 |
| 9Carroll, IA | 47 | 56 | 63.6 | $215K | −2.0% | #294 of 538 |
| 10Marshalltown, IA | 47 | 133 | 85.8 | $156K | −0.5% | #302 of 538 |
| 12Spencer, IA | 38 | 58 | 79.6 | $166K | −0.8% | #382 of 538 |
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
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
- Doctors, dentists and clinics38
- Dentists and orthodontists44
- Primary care and pediatrics37
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors23
- Physical therapy
- Optometrists and eye care23
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many medical and dental practices are in the Spencer, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 58 medical and dental practices in the Spencer area. 5 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 28 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, down 12.5% from 2019. Official counts list 19 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Spencer, IA area spend on medical and dental services?
About $9.6M a year, or $1,321 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 58 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $166K per practice. 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 medical and dental practices?
The Spencer area has 79.6 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $166K, 9% above the U.S. figure of $152K. At the U.S. ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the Spencer area would have about 63, against 58 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 260 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for 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 scores 38 for medical and dental practices (lower middle), #382 of 538 scored small-town markets.
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 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 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.