Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa

Pizza places in the Carroll, IA area

How the Carroll, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pizza places: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #243 of 520 scored small-town markets
#5 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
8
7 chain locations (88%)
Official establishments
16
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$33.1M
On food away from home · $3,763 a household
Spending per listing
$4.1M
19% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.1
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,303
−2.0% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Carroll area

The site report maps the pizza places 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 Carroll area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 pizza places in the Carroll area. 7 of them (88%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 9.1 for every 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.

At $3,763 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Carroll area spend about $33.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 8 pizza places, that is $4.1M per pizza place, 19% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 16 businesses with payroll in the Carroll area classed as limited-service restaurants. That is one for every 550 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too.

Population estimates show the Carroll area declined 2.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Carroll area scores 51 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pizza places, ranking #243 of 520 scored small-town markets and #5 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Carroll area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the pizza places counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Pizza in Carroll, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureCarroll areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.111.78.0
Spending per listing$4.1M$3.3M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)550628478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.0%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,763$3,880$4,070
Median household income$72,930$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score5139

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
16All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
312
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
87 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
7The 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 limited-service restaurants in the Carroll 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. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places.

Population and households in the Carroll area

Population, 2025 estimate
20,303−2.0% since 2020
Households
8,801
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
570 sq. mi.
People per square mile
36
Median household income
$72,930+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,964
Median home value
$176,000
Jobs located here
10,716
Daytime population
20,571Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Carroll 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 pizza places on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Carroll area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for pizza places, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Carroll area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Le Mars, IA571211.6$3.4M0.0%#182 of 520
2Marshalltown, IA551711.0$3.3M−0.5%#214 of 520
3Pella, IA531511.3$3.5M+2.3%#228 of 520
4Storm Lake, IA521013.3$2.9M−1.7%#237 of 520
5Carroll, IA5189.1$4.1M−2.0%#243 of 520
6Fort Dodge, IA501711.1$3.2M−0.4%#259 of 520
7Mason City, IA472410.6$3.5M−1.5%#291 of 520
8Clinton, IA432311.8$3.1M−0.9%#325 of 520
9Oskaloosa, IA411416.0$2.3M−1.2%#352 of 520
10Fort Madison, IA381913.3$2.6M−3.6%#386 of 520

Other business types in the Carroll area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Carroll, IA area?

There are 8 pizza places on map listings in the Carroll area as of September 2026. 7 of them (88%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places.

How much do households in the Carroll, IA area spend on food away from home?

About $33.1M a year, or $3,763 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $4.1M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,801 households in the Carroll area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Carroll, IA area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Carroll area has 9.1 pizza places per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $4.1M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Carroll area would have about 7, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 550 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is the Carroll, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Carroll area at 20,303 people in 2025, down 2.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,801 households. The median household income in the Carroll area is $72,930 a year, 10% 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. 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 Carroll area scores 51 for pizza places (upper middle), #243 of 520 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Carroll area. It maps the pizza places 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 pizza places · All 56 business types in the Carroll area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carroll 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 Carroll 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.