Groundwork

Real estate · Small-town market · Iowa

Real estate businesses in the Burlington, IA-IL area

The real estate businesses in the Burlington, IA-IL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #470 of 536 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
38
1 chain location (3%)
Official establishments
23
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$256.7M
On rent and homeowner costs · $12,913 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
156
56% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
19.1
50% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
44,061
−2.5% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Burlington area

The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 Burlington 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

For real estate businesses, the Burlington area has a Groundwork market score of 33 (lower middle): #470 of 536 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 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 38 real estate businesses in the Burlington area. One of them (3%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 19.1, 50% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Households in the Burlington area spend about $256.7M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $12,913 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 56% 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 businesses take in.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Burlington area was 23 in 2023. That is one for every 864 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Burlington area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Burlington 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 in Burlington, IA-IL area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureBurlington areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households19.124.938.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)156130100
Households per official establishment864648414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.9%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$12,913$14,016$16,661
Median household income$62,811$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score3360

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
23
Employees, 2023
43
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
117Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
381 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
59The 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 real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Burlington 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 Burlington area

Population, 2025 estimate
44,061−2.5% since 2020
Households
19,882
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
795 sq. mi.
People per square mile
56
Median household income
$62,811+21.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,624
Median home value
$131,000
Jobs located here
20,875
Daytime population
44,288Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Burlington 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 businesses on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Real estate across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Burlington area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Le Mars, IA661514.52270.0%#77 of 536
2Storm Lake, IA651215.9200−1.7%#88 of 536
3Ottumwa, IA631913.6221−0.3%#101 of 536
4Marshalltown, IA632415.5200−0.5%#102 of 536
5Oskaloosa, IA601416.0192−1.2%#133 of 536
6Pella, IA572518.8174+2.3%#166 of 536
7Fort Madison, IA541711.9250−3.6%#204 of 536
8Clinton, IA493316.9183−0.9%#276 of 536
9Mason City, IA434318.9165−1.5%#346 of 536
10Carroll, IA421820.5155−2.0%#361 of 536
12Burlington, IA-IL333819.1156−2.5%#470 of 536

Other business types in the Burlington area

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Burlington, IA-IL area?

There are 38 real estate businesses on map listings in the Burlington area as of September 2026. One of them (3%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Another 117 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $256.7M a year, or $12,913 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 38 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 56% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,882 households in the Burlington area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Burlington, IA-IL area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Burlington area has 19.1 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 156, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Burlington area would have about 59, against 38 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 864 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is the Burlington, IA-IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Burlington area at 44,061 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,882 households. The median household income in the Burlington area is $62,811 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.6% 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 Burlington area scores 33 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #470 of 536 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Burlington area. It maps the real estate businesses 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 businesses · All 56 business types in the Burlington area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Burlington 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 Burlington 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.