Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Arizona

Coffee shops and cafes in the Show Low, AZ area

How the Show Low, AZ area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #320 of 529 scored small-town markets
#4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona

Listings
50
5 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
12
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$125.1M
On food away from home · $3,123 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
32% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.5
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
109,946
+3.0% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Show Low 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 Show Low area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 50 coffee shops and cafes in the Show Low area. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 10%, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 12.5 for every 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Households in the Show Low area spend about $125.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,123 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.5M per cafe, 32% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Show Low area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 3,339 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 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Show Low area.

Population estimates show the Show Low area grew 3.0% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, the Show Low area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #320 of 529 scored small-town markets and #4 of 4 scored small-town markets based in Arizona.

How the Show Low area compares

The same measures for Arizona 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 Show Low, AZ area compared with Arizona and the U.S.
MeasureShow Low areaArizonaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.510.911.0
Spending per listing$2.5M$3.7M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)3,3391,6401,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+36.0%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+6.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,123$3,982$4,070
Median household income$54,606$79,964$80,734
Groundwork market score4558

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
110
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
12All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
505 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
34The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Show Low 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 Show Low area

Population, 2025 estimate
109,946+3.0% since 2020
Households
40,063
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
9,950 sq. mi.
People per square mile
11
Median household income
$54,606+36.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$68,874
Median home value
$201,500
Jobs located here
26,234
Daytime population
104,760Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Coffee shops and cafes across Arizona

Every Arizona market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arizona for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Show Low area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arizona

Small-town markets in Arizona ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Safford, AZ7275.5$6.3M+4.0%#42 of 529
2Nogales, AZ57148.3$3.9M+4.8%#194 of 529
3Payson, AZ452611.0$3M+0.9%#317 of 529
4Show Low, AZ455012.5$2.5M+3.0%#320 of 529

Other business types in the Show Low 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 Show Low, AZ area?

There are 50 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Show Low area as of September 2026. 5 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Show Low, AZ area spend on food away from home?

About $125.1M a year, or $3,123 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 50 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 40,063 households in the Show Low area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Show Low, AZ area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Show Low area has 12.5 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.5M, 32% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Show Low area would have about 34, against 50 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,339 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Show Low, AZ area growing?

Population estimates put the Show Low area at 109,946 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 40,063 households. The median household income in the Show Low area is $54,606 a year, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.3% 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 Show Low area scores 45 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #320 of 529 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Show Low 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 Show Low area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Show Low 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 Show Low 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.