Food and drink · Metro area · Alaska
Coffee shops and cafes in the Anchorage, AK metro area
How the Anchorage, AK metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 28 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #354 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 2 scored metro areas based in Alaska
- Listings
- 328
- 73 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 189
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +16.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $669.4M
- On food away from home · $4,509 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2M
- 45% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 22.1
- Twice the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 405,821
- +1.9% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage 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
The Anchorage metro area scores 28 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #354 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 2 scored metro areas based in Alaska. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 328 coffee shops and cafes in the Anchorage metro area. 73 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 22.1, twice the U.S. rate of 11.0.
At $4,509 per household (11% above the U.S. average), households in the Anchorage metro area spend about $669.4M a year on food away from home. That is about $2M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 45% below 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 189 businesses with payroll in the Anchorage metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 16.0% from 2019. That is one for every 786 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. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Anchorage metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Anchorage metro area grew 1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Anchorage metro area compares
The same measures for Alaska 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.
| Measure | Anchorage metro area | Alaska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 22.1 | 22.9 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2M | $1.9M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 786 | 762 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +16.0% | +20.3% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,509 | $4,320 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $100,505 | $92,788 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 28 | 20 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 189All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +16.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,693
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $39.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 22All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 32873 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 181The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $2.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 405,821+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 148,466
- Median age
- 36.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 26,410 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 15
- Median household income
- $100,505+21.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $127,837
- Median home value
- $379,100
- Jobs located here
- n/a
- Daytime population
- n/aResidents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardCoffee shops and cafes across Alaska
Every Alaska market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Alaska for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Alaska, with the Anchorage metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alaska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anchorage, AK | 28 | 328 | 22.1 | $2M | +1.9% | #354 of 387 |
| 2Fairbanks-College, AK | 21 | 69 | 19.0 | $2.2M | −1.4% | #380 of 387 |
Other business types in the Anchorage metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants67
- Fast food and sandwich shops75
- Pizza71
- Coffee shops and cafes28
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 coffee shops and cafes are in the Anchorage, AK metro area?
The Anchorage metro area has 328 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 73 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 189 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 16.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Official counts list 22 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Anchorage, AK metro area spend on food away from home?
About $669.4M a year, or $4,509 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 328 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2M 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 148,466 households in the Anchorage metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Anchorage, AK metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Anchorage metro area has 22.1 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, twice the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2M, 45% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Anchorage metro area would have about 181, against 328 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 786 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 16.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Anchorage, AK metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Anchorage metro area at 405,821 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 148,466 households. The median household income in the Anchorage metro area is $100,505 a year, 24% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.0% 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 Anchorage metro area scores 28 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #354 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 Anchorage 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 Anchorage metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Anchorage 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 Anchorage 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.