Groundwork

Real estate · County · Iowa

Real estate businesses in Mahaska County, IA

How Mahaska County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #766 of 2,229 scored counties
#24 of 69 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
14
1 chain location (7%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$116.5M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,320 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
192
92% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.0
58% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
21,880
−1.2% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Mahaska County

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 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

At $13,320 per household (20% below the U.S. average), households in Mahaska County spend about $116.5M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 92% 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.

Mahaska County has 14 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 16.0, 58% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Mahaska County was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 2,186 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 46 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Mahaska County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Mahaska County scores 56 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #766 of 2,229 scored counties and #24 of 69 scored counties in Iowa.

How Mahaska County 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 Mahaska County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureMahaska CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.024.938.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)192130100
Households per official establishment2,186648414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.9%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.2%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,320$14,016$16,661
Median household income$70,940$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score5660

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 4
Employees, 2023
13
Annual payroll, 2023
$623K
One-person businesses, 2023
46Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
141 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
27The 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 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.

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 real estate businesses 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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Real estate across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Mahaska County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Benton County, IA761211.8285+1.8%#87 of 2,229
2Warren County, IA712311.1314+9.0%#181 of 2,229
3Bremer County, IA661515.4215+1.1%#344 of 2,229
4Guthrie County, IA65510.9302+1.6%#365 of 2,229
5Jones County, IA641214.6215+2.9%#409 of 2,229
6Cedar County, IA6379.2354−0.7%#431 of 2,229
7Crawford County, IA6369.5325−1.5%#434 of 2,229
8Madison County, IA631014.9228+3.8%#446 of 2,229
9Plymouth County, IA631514.52270.0%#447 of 2,229
10Mills County, IA63916.7206+2.6%#454 of 2,229
24Mahaska County, IA561416.0192−1.2%#766 of 2,229

Other business types in Mahaska County

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Mahaska County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 real estate businesses in Mahaska County. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts list 46 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Mahaska County, IA spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $116.5M a year, or $13,320 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 14 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 92% 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. 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 real estate businesses?

Mahaska County has 16.0 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 58% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 192, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Mahaska County would have about 27, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,186 households, against one for every 414 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 56 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #766 of 2,229 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 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 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.