Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Restaurants and cafes in Pocahontas County, IA

The restaurants and cafes in Pocahontas County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
31
8 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.3M
On food away from home · $3,448 a household
Spending per listing
$334K
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
103.3
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,819
−3.5% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 31 restaurants and cafes in Pocahontas County. 8 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 103.3, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Pocahontas County comes to about $10.3M a year: $3,448 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $334K per restaurant, 10% below the U.S. figure of $371K.

Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Pocahontas County in 2023. That is one for every 375 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $900K have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Pocahontas County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Pocahontas County declined 3.5%, 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 Pocahontas 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.

Restaurants and cafes in Pocahontas County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasurePocahontas CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households103.3103.1109.8
Spending per listing$334K$377K$371K
Households per official establishment375245209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.4%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,448$3,880$4,070
Median household income$61,875$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored57

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 8
Employees, 2023
72
Annual payroll, 2023
$790K
One-person businesses, 2023
3Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
318 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
28The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$900K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County

Population, 2025 estimate
6,819−3.5% since 2020
Households
3,000
Median age
43.5
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
577 sq. mi.
People per square mile
12
Median household income
$61,875
Average household income
$77,538
Median home value
$98,100
Jobs located here
2,842
Daytime population
6,836Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants 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 Pocahontas County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, IA8716881.2$535K+9.0%#46 of 2,405
2Benton County, IA845755.9$734K+1.8%#66 of 2,405
3Madison County, IA815785.1$490K+3.8%#127 of 2,405
4Dallas County, IA8040194.4$504K+17.8%#142 of 2,405
5Mills County, IA784787.1$489K+2.6%#181 of 2,405
6Boone County, IA768375.9$528K+0.4%#220 of 2,405
7Butler County, IA743458.0$648K−2.0%#255 of 2,405
8Buchanan County, IA736173.9$510K+1.3%#308 of 2,405
9Grundy County, IA734282.1$493K+0.2%#315 of 2,405
10Hancock County, IA702451.4$693K−2.2%#389 of 2,405
Pocahontas County, IANot scored31103.3$334K−3.5%

Other business types in Pocahontas County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Pocahontas County, IA?

Pocahontas County has 31 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 8 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 Pocahontas County, IA spend on food away from home?

About $10.3M a year, or $3,448 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $334K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,000 households in Pocahontas County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Pocahontas County, IA compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Pocahontas County has 103.3 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $334K, 10% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Pocahontas County would have about 28, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 375 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.

How fast is Pocahontas County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Pocahontas County at 6,819 people in 2025, down 3.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,000 households. The median household income in Pocahontas County is $61,875 a year, 23% 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 Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas 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.