Groundwork

Real estate · Small-town market · Iowa

Real estate agents and brokers in the Ottumwa, IA area

How the Ottumwa, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #130 of 533 scored small-town markets
#2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
14
1 chain location (7%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$181.6M
On rent and homeowner costs · $12,972 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
238
2.4 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.0
67% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
35,210
−0.3% since 2020

See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Ottumwa area

The site report maps the real estate agents and brokers 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 Ottumwa area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 14 real estate agents and brokers in the Ottumwa area. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 4% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.0, 67% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Ottumwa area comes to about $181.6M a year: $12,972 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 2.4 times the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers take in.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Ottumwa area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 2,799 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ottumwa area declined 0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers in the Ottumwa area is 60 (upper middle), #130 of 533 scored small-town markets and #2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Ottumwa area compares

The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate agents and brokers in Ottumwa, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureOttumwa areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.020.330.6
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)238127100
Households per official establishment2,7991,101788
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+20.8%+20.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$12,972$14,016$16,661
Median household income$64,766$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6054

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5
Employees, 2023
12
Annual payroll, 2023
$232K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
141 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 real estate agents and brokers in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa area

Population, 2025 estimate
35,210−0.3% since 2020
Households
13,997
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
432 sq. mi.
People per square mile
82
Median household income
$64,766+40.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,469
Median home value
$125,100
Jobs located here
15,175
Daytime population
34,077Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ottumwa 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 real estate agents and brokers on map listings by name and distance.

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Real estate agents and brokers across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Ottumwa area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Fort Madison, IA60128.4282−3.6%#129 of 533
2Ottumwa, IA601410.0238−0.3%#130 of 533
3Le Mars, IA551413.61930.0%#187 of 533
4Oskaloosa, IA541112.6194−1.2%#199 of 533
5Marshalltown, IA542113.6182−0.5%#202 of 533
6Storm Lake, IA531215.9159−1.7%#221 of 533
7Pella, IA532216.5157+2.3%#223 of 533
8Clinton, IA442713.8178−0.9%#336 of 533
9Carroll, IA381618.2139−2.0%#414 of 533
10Burlington, IA-IL363115.6152−2.5%#439 of 533

Other business types in the Ottumwa area

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

Questions

How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Ottumwa, IA area?

The Ottumwa area has 14 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023.

How much do households in the Ottumwa, IA area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $181.6M a year, or $12,972 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 14 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.4 times the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,997 households in the Ottumwa area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ottumwa, IA area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?

The Ottumwa area has 10.0 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 67% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 238, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Ottumwa area would have about 33, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,799 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ottumwa, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Ottumwa area at 35,210 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,997 households. The median household income in the Ottumwa area is $64,766 a year, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.1% 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 Ottumwa area scores 60 for real estate agents and brokers (upper middle), #130 of 533 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ottumwa area. It maps the real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers · All 56 business types in the Ottumwa area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa 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.