The Cities with the Most (and Least) Coffee Shops Per Capita

In many ways, coffee is the lifeblood of the United States. It’s part of many American’s daily routine to wake us up and keep us alert. It’s estimated that the coffee industry is responsible for roughly 1.8% of the United State’s GDP — about 225.2 billion dollars. Consumers in the United States spend over 74 billion annually on coffee, according to the National Coffee Association. Coffee shops, whether local or a chain, are as popular ever for consumers (and remote workers).

With that in mind, we wanted to see the cities with the most and leaser coffee shops per capita in the U.S. We analyzed just over 100 cities and crunched the numbers to find out which cities love their coffee the most. Read on to see our full findings. 

U.S. map of the cities with the most coffee shops per capita

Coming in at the top of the list is Boston with 61 coffee shops per 100,000 people. Putting that another way, that’s 1 coffee shop for every 1,638 people. No matter how you look at it, that’s a lot of options for Bostonians. Washington, D.C. was next at 58 coffee shops per capita. Interestingly, Seattle, famous for being the home of Starbucks and an overall coffee paradise, came in third for per capita ranking at 56. Oakland (55) was fourth and New Orleans (49) was fifth. 

Below is a table with all of the statistics for every city we analyzed in our study. 

CoffeeShops_2

Our data shows that where you live has a big impact on your number of options for coffee. The five cities with the least coffee shops per capita are Laredo, TX (0.8), El Paso, TX (2), Jacksonville, FL (2), Toledo, OH (3), and San Antonio, TX (3). Additionally, it’s worth noting the difference between the top city, Boston, and Laredo — 61 per capita to 0.08, respectively.

Note that our study isn’t on the quality of the coffee in these cities or the quality of coffee at each location. Instead, it’s an interesting way to see the availability of options throughout the United States. 

Whether you order your coffee with cream, sugar, or just black — or if you prefer an espresso drink instead — it’s clear that Americans love their coffee and their coffee shops. Whether you have as many options as Boston or as few as Laredo, we all have our favorites and our favorite drinks. Here’s to the best part of the day!

Sources & Methodology

We used the Yelp API to find all listed cafes and coffee shops within the city’s limits. We then calculated the per capita rate using the city’s population. These numbers reflect only the city proper, not the surrounding towns or MSA.

Eric Moore

Eric Moore is the owner of Overheard on Conference Calls. As a corporate veteran, he’s seen and heard it all. And when it comes to office chairs, desks, and accessories, he’s used it all. As a former office furniture sales rep, he bring his expertise to provide readers the knowledge to choose the right products for them. He also has his OSHA Ergonomics Certificate.