Food and drink · Metro area · Iowa
Restaurants and cafes in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for restaurants and cafes in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #173 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 683
- 264 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 263
- −8.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $258.5M
- On food away from home · $3,725 a household
- Spending per listing
- $378K
- 2% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 98.4
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 683 restaurants and cafes in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 98.4 for every 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $3,725 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area spend about $258.5M a year on food away from home. Spread across 683 restaurants and cafes, that is $378K per restaurant, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 263 businesses with payroll in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 8.4% from 2019. That is one for every 264 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 32 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 15 SBA-backed loans worth $4.6M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 53 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #173 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 98.4 | 103.1 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $378K | $377K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 264 | 245 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −8.4% | +3.4% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,725 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 263−8.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,550
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $96.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 32Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 683264 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 697The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 15
- Amount
- $4.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 169,189+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,396
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,503 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,811+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,709
- Median home value
- $194,800
- Jobs located here
- 88,619
- Daytime population
- 179,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 metro areas in Iowa for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| 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 |
Other business types in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes53
- Sit-down restaurants59
- Fast food and sandwich shops55
- Pizza39
- Coffee shops and cafes43
- Bakeries and dessert shops43
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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 683 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 264 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 263 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 8.4% from 2019. Official counts list 32 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $258.5M a year, or $3,725 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 683 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $378K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,396 households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 98.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $378K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 697, against 683 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 264 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.
How fast is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area at 169,189 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,396 households. The median household income in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is $70,811 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 53 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #173 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro 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.