Market rankings · Iowa

Restaurants and cafes in Iowa

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Iowa, ranked by the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 13,560; 5,039 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments: 5,367; +3.4% since 2019
Household spending a year: $5.1B; On food away from home
Listings per 10k households: 103.1; 6% below the U.S.
Spending per listing: $377K; 2% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #21 of 51; Market score 57 · Upper middle

A site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings around any address in Iowa by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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

Iowa has 13,560 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 103.1 for every 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in Iowa spend about $5.1B a year on food away from home, or $3,880 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $377K per restaurant, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Iowa was 5,367 in 2023, up 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 245 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.0% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 189 SBA-backed loans worth $76.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Iowa.

Among the 50 states and DC, Iowa ranks #21 for restaurants and cafes, with a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle). Of the 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Iowa, the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area scores highest (73). Of the 15 scored small-town markets in or partly in Iowa, the Le Mars area scores highest (75).

Every market in Iowa for restaurants and cafes

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Iowa, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Iowa, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	73	3,097	105.0	$404K	+6.7%	#48 of 387
Omaha, NE-IA	69	4,042	103.7	$406K	+4.2%	#70 of 387
2Cedar Rapids, IA	62	1,118	98.1	$406K	+1.0%	#113 of 387
3Ames, IA	61	490	98.3	$394K	+2.2%	#124 of 387
4Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	53	683	98.4	$378K	+0.5%	#173 of 387
5Dubuque, IA	49	450	109.8	$357K	+0.1%	#200 of 387
6Iowa City, IA	42	843	116.6	$343K	+4.1%	#247 of 387
7Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	38	634	114.3	$334K	+1.0%	#279 of 387
8Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	35	1,753	108.4	$353K	−0.9%	#293 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Iowa, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Le Mars, IA	75	94	91.1	$439K	0.0%	#52 of 538
2Oskaloosa, IA	72	67	76.6	$471K	−1.2%	#65 of 538
3Marshalltown, IA	72	135	87.1	$419K	−0.5%	#69 of 538
4Fort Dodge, IA	63	141	91.7	$386K	−0.4%	#143 of 538
5Pella, IA	62	137	102.9	$383K	+2.3%	#154 of 538
6Storm Lake, IA	59	85	112.6	$336K	−1.7%	#180 of 538
7Clinton, IA	49	210	107.7	$341K	−0.9%	#269 of 538
8Ottumwa, IA	47	140	100.0	$346K	−0.3%	#294 of 538
9Spencer, IA	46	67	92.0	$389K	−0.8%	#302 of 538
10Carroll, IA	44	96	109.1	$345K	−2.0%	#336 of 538
11Muscatine, IA	43	182	104.9	$349K	−3.0%	#343 of 538
12Mason City, IA	39	252	110.9	$333K	−1.5%	#383 of 538
13Fort Madison, IA	39	157	109.6	$313K	−3.6%	#386 of 538
14Burlington, IA-IL	38	224	112.7	$306K	−2.5%	#392 of 538
15Spirit Lake, IA	34	142	160.5	$249K	+1.7%	#432 of 538

Counties

Counties in Iowa, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Warren County, IA	87	168	81.2	$535K	+9.0%	#46 of 2,405
2Benton County, IA	84	57	55.9	$734K	+1.8%	#66 of 2,405
3Madison County, IA	81	57	85.1	$490K	+3.8%	#127 of 2,405
4Dallas County, IA	80	401	94.4	$504K	+17.8%	#142 of 2,405
5Mills County, IA	78	47	87.1	$489K	+2.6%	#181 of 2,405
6Boone County, IA	76	83	75.9	$528K	+0.4%	#220 of 2,405
7Butler County, IA	74	34	58.0	$648K	−2.0%	#255 of 2,405
8Buchanan County, IA	73	61	73.9	$510K	+1.3%	#308 of 2,405
9Grundy County, IA	73	42	82.1	$493K	+0.2%	#315 of 2,405
10Hancock County, IA	70	24	51.4	$693K	−2.2%	#389 of 2,405
11Jones County, IA	67	69	84.2	$445K	+2.9%	#491 of 2,405
12Jasper County, IA	66	123	81.9	$457K	+0.9%	#515 of 2,405
13Cedar County, IA	65	67	87.9	$443K	−0.7%	#570 of 2,405
14Lyon County, IA	65	44	98.2	$392K	+3.6%	#578 of 2,405
15Bremer County, IA	64	94	96.7	$416K	+1.1%	#617 of 2,405
16Washington County, IA	63	81	90.3	$423K	+0.6%	#643 of 2,405
17Plymouth County, IA	62	94	91.1	$439K	0.0%	#681 of 2,405
18Harrison County, IA	62	57	93.6	$415K	+0.4%	#690 of 2,405
19Mitchell County, IA	62	44	95.7	$395K	+0.6%	#695 of 2,405
20Mahaska County, IA	60	67	76.6	$471K	−1.2%	#752 of 2,405
21Delaware County, IA	60	64	86.9	$437K	+1.3%	#760 of 2,405
22Hamilton County, IA	60	63	97.9	$384K	−0.5%	#779 of 2,405
23Marshall County, IA	59	135	87.1	$419K	−0.5%	#803 of 2,405
24Floyd County, IA	57	50	76.9	$466K	−4.4%	#863 of 2,405
25Allamakee County, IA	57	50	84.0	$431K	+1.2%	#870 of 2,405

Show all 99 counties

Counties in Iowa, ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Spending per listing	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Sioux County, IA	57	136	107.2	$384K	+2.5%	#888 of 2,405
27Chickasaw County, IA	56	42	84.1	$442K	−2.8%	#914 of 2,405
28Pottawattamie County, IA	55	342	90.9	$415K	−0.7%	#961 of 2,405
29Polk County, IA	55	2,296	111.8	$373K	+4.8%	#985 of 2,405
30Guthrie County, IA	55	52	113.0	$350K	+1.6%	#989 of 2,405
31Tama County, IA	54	63	93.8	$382K	−1.5%	#1,024 of 2,405
32Webster County, IA	51	141	91.7	$386K	−0.4%	#1,147 of 2,405
33Crawford County, IA	50	56	88.5	$409K	−1.5%	#1,178 of 2,405
34Hardin County, IA	50	61	86.7	$399K	−2.2%	#1,180 of 2,405
35Linn County, IA	50	992	103.8	$385K	+0.7%	#1,183 of 2,405
36Marion County, IA	50	137	102.9	$383K	+2.3%	#1,184 of 2,405
37O’Brien County, IA	50	59	101.6	$358K	+0.5%	#1,200 of 2,405
38Cherokee County, IA	49	48	95.1	$394K	−2.4%	#1,227 of 2,405
39Poweshiek County, IA	49	75	96.1	$389K	−1.4%	#1,229 of 2,405
40Story County, IA	49	407	104.6	$366K	+2.7%	#1,238 of 2,405
41Buena Vista County, IA	48	85	112.6	$336K	−1.7%	#1,290 of 2,405
42Iowa County, IA	48	78	112.9	$331K	−1.0%	#1,292 of 2,405
43Dubuque County, IA	47	450	109.8	$357K	+0.1%	#1,323 of 2,405
44Jackson County, IA	47	91	110.4	$339K	−0.8%	#1,328 of 2,405
45Black Hawk County, IA	46	547	100.3	$363K	+0.4%	#1,359 of 2,405
46Shelby County, IA	46	55	112.7	$347K	−0.2%	#1,362 of 2,405
47Johnson County, IA	45	762	120.3	$334K	+4.6%	#1,421 of 2,405
48Louisa County, IA	45	52	122.7	$311K	−3.7%	#1,427 of 2,405
49Kossuth County, IA	44	61	93.2	$385K	−3.2%	#1,443 of 2,405
50Henry County, IA	43	74	96.8	$373K	−5.4%	#1,490 of 2,405
51Winneshiek County, IA	43	91	111.8	$347K	−1.6%	#1,503 of 2,405
52Appanoose County, IA	39	44	84.6	$377K	−1.7%	#1,638 of 2,405
53Clinton County, IA	39	210	107.7	$341K	−0.9%	#1,657 of 2,405
54Montgomery County, IA	38	41	89.4	$385K	−3.2%	#1,681 of 2,405
55Wapello County, IA	38	140	100.0	$346K	−0.3%	#1,697 of 2,405
56Clay County, IA	37	67	92.0	$389K	−0.8%	#1,726 of 2,405
57Fayette County, IA	37	87	104.3	$330K	−2.1%	#1,750 of 2,405
58Carroll County, IA	36	96	109.1	$345K	−2.0%	#1,779 of 2,405
59Scott County, IA	36	906	123.9	$324K	+0.4%	#1,786 of 2,405
60Woodbury County, IA	36	475	116.7	$321K	+0.7%	#1,788 of 2,405
61Wright County, IA	35	63	117.7	$313K	−0.9%	#1,837 of 2,405
62Winnebago County, IA	34	45	97.0	$364K	−3.8%	#1,861 of 2,405
63Muscatine County, IA	34	182	104.9	$349K	−3.0%	#1,866 of 2,405
64Cass County, IA	34	65	111.2	$316K	−1.2%	#1,880 of 2,405
65Lee County, IA	32	157	109.6	$313K	−3.6%	#1,954 of 2,405
66Page County, IA	30	61	97.5	$343K	−2.3%	#2,016 of 2,405
67Des Moines County, IA	30	199	115.8	$299K	−2.0%	#2,034 of 2,405
68Clayton County, IA	29	78	103.9	$345K	−1.1%	#2,057 of 2,405
69Dickinson County, IA	29	142	160.5	$249K	+1.7%	#2,083 of 2,405
70Cerro Gordo County, IA	27	223	114.1	$322K	−1.5%	#2,125 of 2,405
71Union County, IA	24	50	97.7	$332K	−2.5%	#2,205 of 2,405
72Jefferson County, IA	17	89	128.0	$268K	−2.5%	#2,344 of 2,405
Franklin County, IA	Not scored	37	88.1	$378K	−1.2%
Keokuk County, IA	Not scored	28	68.8	$509K	−2.0%
Calhoun County, IA	Not scored	40	100.2	$360K	−3.4%
Sac County, IA	Not scored	54	125.5	$289K	−2.7%
Clarke County, IA	Not scored	33	81.1	$455K	−1.6%
Humboldt County, IA	Not scored	37	87.7	$423K	−2.0%
Howard County, IA	Not scored	30	79.5	$446K	−0.8%
Emmet County, IA	Not scored	30	73.8	$455K	−2.5%
Davis County, IA	Not scored	22	68.7	$550K	+1.3%
Palo Alto County, IA	Not scored	38	100.5	$371K	−1.0%
Lucas County, IA	Not scored	30	80.9	$412K	+2.6%
Greene County, IA	Not scored	36	91.8	$390K	−1.0%
Monona County, IA	Not scored	38	98.0	$360K	−2.4%
Decatur County, IA	Not scored	32	104.7	$311K	−0.9%
Monroe County, IA	Not scored	30	97.1	$372K	−2.5%
Adair County, IA	Not scored	27	83.4	$441K	−1.3%
Worth County, IA	Not scored	29	91.3	$416K	−1.3%
Van Buren County, IA	Not scored	27	93.2	$363K	−1.2%
Pocahontas County, IA	Not scored	31	103.3	$334K	−3.5%
Ida County, IA	Not scored	32	104.9	$336K	−3.4%
Wayne County, IA	Not scored	21	81.9	$431K	+3.6%
Fremont County, IA	Not scored	28	99.2	$380K	−0.8%
Osceola County, IA	Not scored	22	83.5	$432K	−3.6%
Taylor County, IA	Not scored	23	92.4	$373K	−0.5%
Audubon County, IA	Not scored	14	53.9	$645K	−3.0%
Ringgold County, IA	Not scored	21	110.6	$337K	0.0%
Adams County, IA	Not scored	21	136.4	$276K	−2.5%

Markets with fewer than 5 restaurants and cafes on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Iowa?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 13,560 restaurants and cafes in Iowa. 5,039 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 5,367 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 3.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 873 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Iowa spend on food away from home?

About $5.1B a year, or $3,880 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13,560 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $377K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,315,707 households in Iowa and national spending patterns by income.

How does Iowa compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Iowa has 103.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $377K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Iowa would have about 13,769, against 13,560 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 245 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

Which market in Iowa has the highest market score for restaurants and cafes?

Among 9 scored metro areas in or partly in Iowa, the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area scores highest, at 73 (upper middle). Among 15 scored small-town markets in or partly in Iowa, the Le Mars area scores highest, at 75 (high). Among 72 scored counties in Iowa, Warren County scores highest, at 87 (high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Iowa scores 57 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #21 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Iowa. It maps the restaurants and cafes 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.

Sit-down restaurants6,964 listings
Fast food and sandwich shops1,600 listings
Pizza1,535 listings
Coffee shops and cafes1,555 listings
Bakeries and dessert shops1,058 listings

Screening a site or an acquisition in Iowa?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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