Real estate · Small-town market · Iowa
Real estate agents and brokers in the Spencer, IA area
How the Spencer, 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 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #497 of 533 scored small-town markets
#14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 17
- 1 chain location (6%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $96.7M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,275 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 104
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 23.3
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 16,202
- −0.8% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Spencer 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 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
For real estate agents and brokers, the Spencer area has a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle): #497 of 533 scored small-town markets and #14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
As of September 2026, map listings count 17 real estate agents and brokers in the Spencer area. One of them (6%) is a chain location, against 4% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 23.3, 24% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Spencer area comes to about $96.7M a year: $13,275 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 4% above 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Spencer area classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers. That is one for every 1,821 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $967K has gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Spencer area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Spencer area declined 0.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Spencer 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.
| Measure | Spencer area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 23.3 | 20.3 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 104 | 127 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 1,821 | 1,101 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +20.8% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,275 | $14,016 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $65,428 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 5
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $183K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 171 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $967K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers 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 cardReal 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 Spencer area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fort Madison, IA | 60 | 12 | 8.4 | 282 | −3.6% | #129 of 533 |
| 2Ottumwa, IA | 60 | 14 | 10.0 | 238 | −0.3% | #130 of 533 |
| 3Le Mars, IA | 55 | 14 | 13.6 | 193 | 0.0% | #187 of 533 |
| 4Oskaloosa, IA | 54 | 11 | 12.6 | 194 | −1.2% | #199 of 533 |
| 5Marshalltown, IA | 54 | 21 | 13.6 | 182 | −0.5% | #202 of 533 |
| 6Storm Lake, IA | 53 | 12 | 15.9 | 159 | −1.7% | #221 of 533 |
| 7Pella, IA | 53 | 22 | 16.5 | 157 | +2.3% | #223 of 533 |
| 8Clinton, IA | 44 | 27 | 13.8 | 178 | −0.9% | #336 of 533 |
| 9Carroll, IA | 38 | 16 | 18.2 | 139 | −2.0% | #414 of 533 |
| 10Burlington, IA-IL | 36 | 31 | 15.6 | 152 | −2.5% | #439 of 533 |
| 14Spencer, IA | 31 | 17 | 23.3 | 104 | −0.8% | #497 of 533 |
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
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate25
- Real estate agents and brokers31
- Property management
- Mortgage brokers and lenders
- Home inspectors
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Spencer, IA area?
The Spencer area has 17 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (6%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023.
How much do households in the Spencer, IA area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $96.7M a year, or $13,275 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 17 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 4% above 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 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 real estate agents and brokers?
The Spencer area has 23.3 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 104, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Spencer area would have about 18, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,821 households, against one for every 788 across 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 31 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #497 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 Spencer 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 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.