Food and drink · County · Iowa
Restaurants and cafes in Mills County, IA
How Mills County, IA compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 78 out of 100: High
Ranked #181 of 2,405 scored counties
#5 of 72 scored counties in Iowa
- Listings
- 47
- 8 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 16
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $23M
- On food away from home · $4,259 a household
- Spending per listing
- $489K
- 32% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 87.1
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 14,793
- +2.6% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Mills 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 Mills 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
The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in Mills County is 78 (high), #181 of 2,405 scored counties and #5 of 72 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for restaurants and cafes.
At $4,259 per household (5% above the U.S. average), households in Mills County spend about $23M a year on food away from home. Spread across 47 restaurants and cafes, that is $489K per restaurant, 32% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Mills County has 47 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (17%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. That is 87.1 per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Mills County was 16 in 2023. That is one for every 337 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $500K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Mills County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Mills County grew 2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Mills 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 | Mills County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 87.1 | 103.1 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $489K | $377K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 337 | 245 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.6% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,259 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $90,753 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 78 | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12 → 16
- Employees, 2023
- 188
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 478 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 62The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $500K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Mills 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 Mills County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 14,793+2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 5,394
- Median age
- 42.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 84%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 437 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $90,753+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,810
- Median home value
- $237,800
- Jobs located here
- 3,516
- Daytime population
- 10,867Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Mills 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 Mills 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 Mills 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 |
Other business types in Mills County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes78
- Sit-down restaurants80
- Fast food and sandwich shops
- Pizza
- Coffee shops and cafes46
- Bakeries and dessert shops
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 Mills County, IA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 47 restaurants and cafes in Mills County. 8 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Mills County, IA spend on food away from home?
About $23M a year, or $4,259 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 47 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $489K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,394 households in Mills County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Mills County, IA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
Mills County has 87.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $489K, 32% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Mills County would have about 62, against 47 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 337 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is Mills County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Mills County at 14,793 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,394 households. Median household income in Mills County is $90,753, 12% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.9%, 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. Mills County scores 78 for restaurants and cafes (high), #181 of 2,405 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mills 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 Mills County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Mills 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 Mills 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.