Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa
Pizza places in the Spirit Lake, IA area
The pizza places in the Spirit Lake, IA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #405 of 520 scored small-town markets
#11 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 14
- 11 chain locations (79%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $35.3M
- On food away from home · $3,991 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.5M
- 50% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.8
- 98% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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
For pizza places, the Spirit Lake area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #405 of 520 scored small-town markets and #11 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 pizza places in the Spirit Lake area. 11 of them (79%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That is 15.8 per 10,000 households, 98% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
Households in the Spirit Lake area spend about $35.3M a year on food away from home, or $3,991 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each pizza place on map listings, 50% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Spirit Lake area was 24 in 2023. That is one for every 369 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $85K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Spirit Lake area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Spirit Lake area grew 1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Spirit Lake 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.
| Measure | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.8 | 11.7 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.5M | $3.3M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 369 | 628 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,991 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 36 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 24All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 339
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1411 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
- 1
- Amount
- $85K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPizza across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for pizza places, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake 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 | 57 | 12 | 11.6 | $3.4M | 0.0% | #182 of 520 |
| 2Marshalltown, IA | 55 | 17 | 11.0 | $3.3M | −0.5% | #214 of 520 |
| 3Pella, IA | 53 | 15 | 11.3 | $3.5M | +2.3% | #228 of 520 |
| 4Storm Lake, IA | 52 | 10 | 13.3 | $2.9M | −1.7% | #237 of 520 |
| 5Carroll, IA | 51 | 8 | 9.1 | $4.1M | −2.0% | #243 of 520 |
| 6Fort Dodge, IA | 50 | 17 | 11.1 | $3.2M | −0.4% | #259 of 520 |
| 7Mason City, IA | 47 | 24 | 10.6 | $3.5M | −1.5% | #291 of 520 |
| 8Clinton, IA | 43 | 23 | 11.8 | $3.1M | −0.9% | #325 of 520 |
| 9Oskaloosa, IA | 41 | 14 | 16.0 | $2.3M | −1.2% | #352 of 520 |
| 10Fort Madison, IA | 38 | 19 | 13.3 | $2.6M | −3.6% | #386 of 520 |
| 11Spirit Lake, IA | 36 | 14 | 15.8 | $2.5M | +1.7% | #405 of 520 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake 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
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pizza places are in the Spirit Lake, IA area?
There are 14 pizza places on map listings in the Spirit Lake area as of September 2026. 11 of them (79%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 24 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 Spirit Lake, IA area spend on food away from home?
About $35.3M a year, or $3,991 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
The Spirit Lake area has 15.8 pizza places per 10,000 households, 98% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $2.5M, 50% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 7, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 369 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Spirit Lake area scores 36 for pizza places (lower middle), #405 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.