Real estate · Small-town market · Iowa
Real estate businesses in the Spirit Lake, IA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Spirit Lake, IA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #512 of 536 scored small-town markets
#14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 54
- 1 chain location (2%)
- Official establishments
- 26
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $127.4M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,405 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 54
- 46% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 61.1
- 59% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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
The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Spirit Lake area is 29 (lower middle), #512 of 536 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 54 real estate businesses in the Spirit Lake area. One of them (2%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. That is 61.1 per 10,000 households, 59% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
At $14,405 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Spirit Lake area spend about $127.4M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 46% below 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 Spirit Lake area was 26 in 2023. That is one for every 340 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Spirit Lake area grew 1.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Spirit Lake 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 | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 61.1 | 24.9 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 54 | 130 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 340 | 648 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.9% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,405 | $14,016 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 60 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 26
- Employees, 2023
- 36
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 136Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 541 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 29The 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area. 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 small-town markets in Iowa for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Le Mars, IA | 66 | 15 | 14.5 | 227 | 0.0% | #77 of 536 |
| 2Storm Lake, IA | 65 | 12 | 15.9 | 200 | −1.7% | #88 of 536 |
| 3Ottumwa, IA | 63 | 19 | 13.6 | 221 | −0.3% | #101 of 536 |
| 4Marshalltown, IA | 63 | 24 | 15.5 | 200 | −0.5% | #102 of 536 |
| 5Oskaloosa, IA | 60 | 14 | 16.0 | 192 | −1.2% | #133 of 536 |
| 6Pella, IA | 57 | 25 | 18.8 | 174 | +2.3% | #166 of 536 |
| 7Fort Madison, IA | 54 | 17 | 11.9 | 250 | −3.6% | #204 of 536 |
| 8Clinton, IA | 49 | 33 | 16.9 | 183 | −0.9% | #276 of 536 |
| 9Mason City, IA | 43 | 43 | 18.9 | 165 | −1.5% | #346 of 536 |
| 10Carroll, IA | 42 | 18 | 20.5 | 155 | −2.0% | #361 of 536 |
| 14Spirit Lake, IA | 29 | 54 | 61.1 | 54 | +1.7% | #512 of 536 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake 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
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Spirit Lake, IA area?
The Spirit Lake area has 54 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (2%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts also show 136 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $127.4M a year, or $14,405 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 54 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 46% below 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 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Spirit Lake area has 61.1 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 59% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 54, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 29, against 54 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 340 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Spirit Lake area scores 29 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #512 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.