Real estate · County · Iowa
Real estate businesses in Palo Alto County, IA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in Palo Alto County, IA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 3
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $51.3M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,577 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 395
- 4 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.9
- 79% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,899
- −1.0% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County. 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
Households in Palo Alto County spend about $51.3M a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $13,577 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 4 times 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.
There are 3 real estate businesses on map listings in Palo Alto County as of September 2026. That comes to 7.9 for every 10,000 households, 79% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Palo Alto County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts list 20 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Palo Alto County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Palo Alto 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.
| Measure | Palo Alto County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.9 | 24.9 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 395 | 130 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 648 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.9% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,577 | $14,016 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $72,781 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 20Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 30 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,899−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,782
- Median age
- 41.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 564 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 16
- Median household income
- $72,781
- Average household income
- $89,684
- Median home value
- $123,200
- Jobs located here
- 3,528
- Daytime population
- 8,293Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Palo Alto County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Benton County, IA | 76 | 12 | 11.8 | 285 | +1.8% | #87 of 2,229 |
| 2Warren County, IA | 71 | 23 | 11.1 | 314 | +9.0% | #181 of 2,229 |
| 3Bremer County, IA | 66 | 15 | 15.4 | 215 | +1.1% | #344 of 2,229 |
| 4Guthrie County, IA | 65 | 5 | 10.9 | 302 | +1.6% | #365 of 2,229 |
| 5Jones County, IA | 64 | 12 | 14.6 | 215 | +2.9% | #409 of 2,229 |
| 6Cedar County, IA | 63 | 7 | 9.2 | 354 | −0.7% | #431 of 2,229 |
| 7Crawford County, IA | 63 | 6 | 9.5 | 325 | −1.5% | #434 of 2,229 |
| 8Madison County, IA | 63 | 10 | 14.9 | 228 | +3.8% | #446 of 2,229 |
| 9Plymouth County, IA | 63 | 15 | 14.5 | 227 | 0.0% | #447 of 2,229 |
| 10Mills County, IA | 63 | 9 | 16.7 | 206 | +2.6% | #454 of 2,229 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | Not scored | 3 | 7.9 | 395 | −1.0% |
Other business types in Palo Alto County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
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 real estate businesses are in Palo Alto County, IA?
As of September 2026, map listings count 3 real estate businesses in Palo Alto County. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. No official count is published for real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Palo Alto County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 20 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Palo Alto County, IA spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $51.3M a year, or $13,577 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 3 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 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 businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,782 households in Palo Alto County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Palo Alto County, IA compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Palo Alto County has 7.9 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 79% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 395, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Palo Alto County would have about 12, against 3 on map listings.
How fast is Palo Alto County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Palo Alto County at 8,899 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,782 households. Median household income in Palo Alto County is $72,781, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.