Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Pizza places in Mahaska County, IA

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pizza places in Mahaska County, IA, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,614 of 2,090 scored counties
#51 of 64 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
14
12 chain locations (86%)
Official establishments
13
All limited-service restaurants
Household spending a year
$31.6M
On food away from home · $3,612 a household
Spending per listing
$2.3M
56% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.0
Twice the U.S.
Population, 2025
21,880
−1.2% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in Mahaska County

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 Mahaska County. 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

The Groundwork market score for pizza places in Mahaska County is 36 (lower middle), #1,614 of 2,090 scored counties and #51 of 64 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $3,612 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in Mahaska County spend about $31.6M a year on food away from home. That is about $2.3M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 56% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.

Mahaska County has 14 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 86% of them, against 58% across the U.S. That is 16.0 per 10,000 households, twice the U.S. rate of 8.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Mahaska County was 13 in 2023. That is one for every 673 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Mahaska County declined 1.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Mahaska County 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 Mahaska County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureMahaska CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.011.78.0
Spending per listing$2.3M$3.3M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)673628478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.9%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.2%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,612$3,880$4,070
Median household income$70,940$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score3639

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14 → 13All limited-service restaurants
Employees, 2023
243
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The 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 Mahaska 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. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places.

Population and households in Mahaska County

Population, 2025 estimate
21,880−1.2% since 2020
Households
8,743
Median age
39.4
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
571 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$70,940+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,932
Median home value
$157,800
Jobs located here
8,845
Daytime population
19,874Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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

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The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for pizza places, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Mahaska County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Dallas County, IA77409.4$5.1M+17.8%#147 of 2,090
2Madison County, IA71710.5$4M+3.8%#293 of 2,090
3Boone County, IA641110.1$4M+0.4%#522 of 2,090
4Warren County, IA643115.0$2.9M+9.0%#527 of 2,090
5Benton County, IA611312.7$3.2M+1.8%#630 of 2,090
6Winneshiek County, IA6078.6$4.5M−1.6%#652 of 2,090
7Polk County, IA5921010.2$4.1M+4.8%#695 of 2,090
8Johnson County, IA576610.4$3.9M+4.6%#768 of 2,090
9Sioux County, IA571511.8$3.5M+2.5%#770 of 2,090
10Jackson County, IA5689.7$3.9M−0.8%#808 of 2,090
51Mahaska County, IA361416.0$2.3M−1.2%#1,614 of 2,090

Other business types in Mahaska County

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

Questions

How many pizza places are in Mahaska County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 pizza places in Mahaska County. 12 of them (86%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too.

How much do households in Mahaska County, IA spend on food away from home?

About $31.6M a year, or $3,612 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per pizza place. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,743 households in Mahaska County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Mahaska County, IA compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

Mahaska County has 16.0 pizza places per 10,000 households, twice the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $2.3M, 56% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, Mahaska County would have about 6, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 673 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.

How fast is Mahaska County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Mahaska County at 21,880 people in 2025, down 1.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,743 households. Median household income in Mahaska County is $70,940, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, 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. Mahaska County scores 36 for pizza places (lower middle), #1,614 of 2,090 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mahaska County. 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 Mahaska County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Mahaska 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 Mahaska 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.