Food and drink · County · Iowa
Restaurants and cafes in Howard County, IA
How Howard County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 30
- 6 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $13.4M
- On food away from home · $3,548 a household
- Spending per listing
- $446K
- 20% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 79.5
- 28% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,415
- −0.8% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Howard County
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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 Howard 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 30 restaurants and cafes in Howard County. 6 of them (20%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 79.5 for every 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $3,548 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in Howard County spend about $13.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $446K per restaurant, 20% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Howard County was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 314 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show Howard County declined 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, 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 Howard County compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Howard County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 79.5 | 103.1 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $446K | $377K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 314 | 245 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,548 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $67,446 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14 → 12
- Employees, 2023
- 94
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 306 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 36The 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 restaurants and other eating places in Howard 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 Howard County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 9,415−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 3,773
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 473 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 20
- Median household income
- $67,446
- Average household income
- $87,621
- Median home value
- $147,800
- Jobs located here
- 4,105
- Daytime population
- 9,049Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Howard 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 restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Howard County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Howard County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| 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 |
| Howard County, IA | Not scored | 30 | 79.5 | $446K | −0.8% |
Other business types in Howard 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 restaurants and cafes are in Howard County, IA?
There are 30 restaurants and cafes on map listings in Howard County as of September 2026. 6 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Howard County, IA spend on food away from home?
About $13.4M a year, or $3,548 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $446K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,773 households in Howard County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Howard County, IA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Howard County has 79.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $446K, 20% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Howard County would have about 36, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 314 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Howard County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Howard County at 9,415 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,773 households. The median household income in Howard County is $67,446 a year, 16% 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 Howard County. 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.
How the score works · Top markets for restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in Howard County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Howard 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 Howard 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.