Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa
Restaurants and cafes in the Pella, IA area
How the Pella, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #154 of 538 scored small-town markets
#5 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 137
- 50 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 62
- +21.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $52.5M
- On food away from home · $3,941 a household
- Spending per listing
- $383K
- 3% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 102.9
- 6% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 34,192
- +2.3% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Pella area
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 the Pella 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 137 restaurants and cafes in the Pella area. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 102.9 per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Pella area comes to about $52.5M a year: $3,941 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 137 restaurants and cafes, that is $383K per restaurant, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Pella area in 2023, up 21.6% from 2019. That is one for every 215 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $460K has gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Pella area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Pella area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes in the Pella area is 62 (upper middle), #154 of 538 scored small-town markets and #5 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Pella area 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 | Pella area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 102.9 | 103.1 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $383K | $377K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 215 | 245 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +21.6% | +3.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,941 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $78,680 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 62+21.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,023
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $16.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 13750 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 142The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $460K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Pella 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 Pella area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 34,192+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 13,316
- Median age
- 40.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 555 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 61
- Median household income
- $78,680+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $100,547
- Median home value
- $233,000
- Jobs located here
- 19,073
- Daytime population
- 36,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Pella 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 restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Pella area. 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 small-town markets in Iowa for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Pella area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| 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 |
Other business types in the Pella area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes62
- Sit-down restaurants76
- Fast food and sandwich shops63
- Pizza53
- Coffee shops and cafes47
- Bakeries and dessert shops55
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 the Pella, IA area?
There are 137 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Pella area as of September 2026. 50 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 62 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 21.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Pella, IA area spend on food away from home?
About $52.5M a year, or $3,941 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 137 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $383K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,316 households in the Pella area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Pella, IA area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Pella area has 102.9 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $383K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Pella area would have about 142, against 137 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 215 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Pella, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Pella area at 34,192 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,316 households. The median household income in the Pella area is $78,680 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.9% 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 Pella area scores 62 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #154 of 538 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Pella area. 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 the Pella area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pella 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 Pella 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.