Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa
Sit-down restaurants in the Spirit Lake, IA area
How the Spirit Lake, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #377 of 538 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 64
- 17 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 32
- −3.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $35.3M
- On food away from home · $3,991 a household
- Spending per listing
- $552K
- 17% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 72.4
- 18% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Spirit Lake area
The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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 Spirit Lake 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 64 sit-down restaurants in the Spirit Lake area. 17 of them (27%) are chain locations, against 29% across the U.S. That is 72.4 per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
Household spending on food away from home in the Spirit Lake area comes to about $35.3M a year: $3,991 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That works out to $552K per restaurant, 17% below the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Spirit Lake area was 32 in 2023, down 3.0% from 2019. That is one for every 276 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $312K have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Spirit Lake area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Spirit Lake area grew 1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Spirit Lake area is 40 (lower middle), #377 of 538 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Spirit Lake 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 sit-down restaurants 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 | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 72.4 | 52.9 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $552K | $733K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 276 | 535 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.0% | −2.5% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,991 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 32−3.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 462
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6417 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 53The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $312K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Spirit Lake area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-down restaurants across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Spirit Lake area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pella, IA | 76 | 59 | 44.3 | $889K | +2.3% | #36 of 538 |
| 2Oskaloosa, IA | 74 | 32 | 36.6 | $987K | −1.2% | #47 of 538 |
| 3Le Mars, IA | 69 | 52 | 50.4 | $793K | 0.0% | #82 of 538 |
| 4Marshalltown, IA | 61 | 75 | 48.4 | $754K | −0.5% | #158 of 538 |
| 5Spencer, IA | 59 | 28 | 38.5 | $930K | −0.8% | #171 of 538 |
| 6Fort Dodge, IA | 56 | 74 | 48.1 | $736K | −0.4% | #206 of 538 |
| 7Clinton, IA | 54 | 100 | 51.3 | $715K | −0.9% | #223 of 538 |
| 8Storm Lake, IA | 52 | 48 | 63.6 | $595K | −1.7% | #251 of 538 |
| 9Mason City, IA | 42 | 124 | 54.6 | $676K | −1.5% | #345 of 538 |
| 10Carroll, IA | 42 | 52 | 59.1 | $637K | −2.0% | #348 of 538 |
| 12Spirit Lake, IA | 40 | 64 | 72.4 | $552K | +1.7% | #377 of 538 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes34
- Sit-down restaurants40
- Fast food and sandwich shops47
- Pizza36
- Coffee shops and cafes35
- Bakeries and dessert shops38
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 sit-down restaurants are in the Spirit Lake, IA area?
The Spirit Lake area has 64 sit-down restaurants on map listings as of September 2026. 17 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 32 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023, down 3.0% from 2019.
How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on food away from home?
About $35.3M a year, or $3,991 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 64 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $552K per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The Spirit Lake area has 72.4 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 18% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $552K, 17% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 53, against 64 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 276 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Spirit Lake area scores 40 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #377 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 Spirit Lake area. It maps the sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · All 56 business types in the Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.