Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Alabama

Coffee shops and cafes in the Montgomery, AL metro area

The coffee shops and cafes in the Montgomery, AL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #66 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
92
46 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
54
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +50.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$527.9M
On food away from home · $3,486 a household
Spending per listing
$5.7M
55% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.1
45% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
388,747
+0.9% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Montgomery metro area

The site report maps the coffee shops 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 Montgomery metro area. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 92 coffee shops and cafes in the Montgomery metro area. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 6.1 per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Households in the Montgomery metro area spend about $527.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,486 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That works out to $5.7M per cafe, 55% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 54 businesses with payroll in the Montgomery metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 50.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,804 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $681K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Montgomery metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Montgomery metro area grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, the Montgomery metro area has a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle): #66 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Montgomery metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the coffee shops 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.

Coffee shops and cafes in Montgomery, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.17.711.0
Spending per listing$5.7M$4.6M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,8042,5481,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+50.0%+61.3%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,486$3,519$4,070
Median household income$64,010$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score6667

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
54All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +50.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
689
Annual payroll, 2023
$13.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
13All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9246 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
143The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$681K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Montgomery 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. These official figures cover all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes.

Population and households in the Montgomery metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
388,747+0.9% since 2020
Households
151,438
Median age
38.8
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,714 sq. mi.
People per square mile
142
Median household income
$64,010+21.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,716
Median home value
$191,900
Jobs located here
168,224
Daytime population
403,321Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Montgomery 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 coffee shops and cafes on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Montgomery metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Montgomery metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Huntsville, AL7121110.2$4M+12.5%#40 of 387
2Tuscaloosa, AL69686.4$5.4M+2.9%#45 of 387
3Birmingham, AL683457.4$5.1M+1.4%#55 of 387
4Decatur, AL67487.7$4.7M+2.5%#61 of 387
5Montgomery, AL66926.1$5.7M+0.9%#66 of 387
6Anniston-Oxford, AL57276.0$5.3M−0.3%#129 of 387
Columbus, GA-AL57846.6$5.1M−1.3%#130 of 387
7Mobile, AL571126.9$4.9M−0.7%#132 of 387
8Auburn-Opelika, AL56648.3$4.2M+7.1%#140 of 387
9Gadsden, AL54287.1$4.4M+0.4%#160 of 387

Other business types in the Montgomery metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Montgomery, AL metro area?

There are 92 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Montgomery metro area as of September 2026. 46 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 54 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 50.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Another 13 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Montgomery, AL metro area spend on food away from home?

About $527.9M a year, or $3,486 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 92 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $5.7M per cafe. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes. It is estimated from the incomes of the 151,438 households in the Montgomery metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Montgomery, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Montgomery metro area has 6.1 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $5.7M, 55% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Montgomery metro area would have about 143, against 92 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,804 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 50.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is the Montgomery, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Montgomery metro area at 388,747 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 151,438 households. The median household income in the Montgomery metro area is $64,010 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.6% 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 Montgomery metro area scores 66 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #66 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 Montgomery metro area. It maps the coffee shops 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 coffee shops and cafes · All 56 business types in the Montgomery metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.