276,624 people live in Cedar Rapids, IA, which places it 182nd of the 387 metropolitan areas. Households, home values, education, business density, and which trades are already crowded, all from Census data.
The metropolitan statistical area is centered on Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
A $78,080 median household income puts Cedar Rapids, IA 3 percent below the national figure. Owner-occupied homes carry a median value of $211,500, 36 percent below the national figure; the national comparison point is $332,700.
Age and education shape how people search and who answers the phone. The median resident is 39.7 years old, 0.8 years above the national median. The unemployment rate stands at 3.3%, 2 points below the US share. Bachelor's degree or higher: 32.9% of adults, 3 points below the US share. Ownership: 75% of households own their home, 10 points above the US share.
Cedar Rapids, IA versus Iowa: income 4 percent higher than the Iowa figure, home values about the same as the Iowa figure, business density 5 percent thinner than the Iowa figure.
6,793 businesses with employees operate in Cedar Rapids, IA. Density runs 24.6 businesses for every 1,000 residents, in line with the national figure. The table breaks out the categories that spend the most on local advertising; restaurants is the biggest of them at 475. 346 of them are home-services contractors, 5.1% of everything, about the same as the US share.
| Trade | Establishments | Per 100,000 residents | vs US mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 46 | 16.6 | 0.57× |
| Physicians' offices | 102 | 36.9 | 0.58× |
| Self-storage facilities | 9 | 3.3 | 0.60× |
| Legal services | 97 | 35.1 | 0.66× |
| Personal care services (all) | 100 | 36.2 | 0.77× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 6 | 2.2 | 0.80× |
| Dentists | 97 | 35.1 | 0.88× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 98 | 35.4 | 0.88× |
| Landscaping services | 88 | 31.8 | 0.92× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 475 | 171.7 | 0.95× |
| Beauty salons | 65 | 23.5 | 0.95× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 87 | 31.5 | 0.96× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 34 | 12.3 | 0.98× |
| General freight trucking | 95 | 34.3 | 1.00× |
| Roofing contractors | 22 | 8 | 1.06× |
| Electrical contractors | 72 | 26 | 1.06× |
| Automobile dealers | 50 | 18.1 | 1.31× |
| General automotive repair | 95 | 34.3 | 1.38× |
| Child day care services | 98 | 35.4 | 1.47× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 43 | 15.5 | 2.27× |
The last column divides the local share of establishments by the national share (1.00 = the same mix as the US).
Crowded categories in Cedar Rapids, IA: concrete contractors, child day care services, general automotive repair and automobile dealers. At the top of that list, concrete contractors number 43, 2.3 times the US share. By contrast grocery stores, physicians' offices, self-storage operators and legal services are comparatively scarce in Cedar Rapids, IA. Grocery stores show the largest gap, 46 locations, about 57% of what the national mix would give. Plumbing and HVAC contractors, roofing contractors and electrical contractors sit near their national proportions.
The most numerous of the listed trades: restaurants with 475 establishments, then physicians' offices (102) and personal care services (100). Scaled to residents, restaurants run 171.7 per 100,000, more than physicians' offices or personal care services. Sector view: automotive businesses index at 1.4 times the national share, legal services at about 66% of.
concrete contractors, child day care services and general automotive repair face a full field here. Each new review, each answered call and each page that matches a specific search is a small edge, and the edges add up. For grocery stores, physicians' offices and self-storage operators, the opportunity is coverage. Few competitors means the business that shows up for every nearby town and every variant of the search collects most of it. With 75% of homes owner-occupied, the people searching for a plumber or a roofer here are usually the ones paying the bill, which shortens the sales cycle. Residents here are older than the US median (0.8 years above the national median); they search, read reviews and call, which puts the weight on search, the listing and the phone.
Where to start in Cedar Rapids, IA, based on the competition profile above.
A clean, fast site with one job: make the call happen.
An answering service that books and qualifies rather than sending callers to voicemail.
Google Guaranteed placements above the ads for the home-service and legal categories that qualify.
Paid search that shows up when someone in Cedar Rapids, IA is ready to call, not just browsing.
Profile upkeep, posts, Q&A and photos on the listing customers see first.
Organic visibility for the searches that do not need an ad to win.
Cedar Rapids, IA has 276,624 residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 182nd of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Cedar Rapids, IA is $78,080 (ACS 2024 5-year), below the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 6,793 employer establishments in Cedar Rapids, IA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 24.6 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Cedar Rapids, IA is $211,500, and 75% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), concrete contractors, child day care services and general automotive repair have more establishments per resident than the US average; grocery stores, physicians' offices and self-storage operators have fewer in Cedar Rapids, IA.
We will look at your Business Profile, your site and your current ads, then say plainly what to fix first.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.