Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · California

Coffee shops and cafes in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area

The coffee shops and cafes in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 21 out of 100: Low

Ranked #514 of 529 scored small-town markets
#8 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California

Listings
95
14 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
42
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +5.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$192.4M
On food away from home · $3,504 a household
Spending per listing
$2M
45% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.3
57% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
131,647
−3.4% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata 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

The Eureka-Arcata area scores 21 (low) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #514 of 529 scored small-town markets and #8 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

As of September 2026, map listings count 95 coffee shops and cafes in the Eureka-Arcata area. Of those, 14 are chain locations, or 15%, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.3, 57% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Household spending on food away from home in the Eureka-Arcata area comes to about $192.4M a year: $3,504 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 95 coffee shops and cafes, that is $2M per cafe, 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Eureka-Arcata area was 42 in 2023, up 5.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,308 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, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $8,000 has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Eureka-Arcata area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Eureka-Arcata area declined 3.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Eureka-Arcata area compares

The same measures for California 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 Eureka-Arcata, CA area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureEureka-Arcata areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.314.811.0
Spending per listing$2M$3.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,3081,0101,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.0%+13.5%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,504$4,559$4,070
Median household income$61,160$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score2132

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
42All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +5.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
444
Annual payroll, 2023
$11.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9514 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
52The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$8,000

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

Population, 2025 estimate
131,647−3.4% since 2020
Households
54,922
Median age
40.4
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,568 sq. mi.
People per square mile
38
Median household income
$61,160+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,194
Median home value
$446,900
Jobs located here
48,178
Daytime population
133,286Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata 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 California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Eureka-Arcata area marked.

Top small-town markets in California

Small-town markets in California ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA434219.3$2.2M+0.9%#347 of 529
1Red Bluff, CA39249.7$3.6M−1.7%#381 of 529
2Truckee-Grass Valley, CA376815.9$2.7M−0.4%#403 of 529
3Clearlake, CA363111.5$3.1M−0.6%#419 of 529
4Crescent City, CA291616.8$2.1M−4.4%#475 of 529
5Susanville, CA281111.9$2.9M−13.1%#482 of 529
6Ukiah, CA255415.5$2.4M−3.5%#500 of 529
7Sonora, CA234921.6$1.8M−4.0%#507 of 529
8Eureka-Arcata, CA219517.3$2M−3.4%#514 of 529
9Bishop, CA192126.1$1.5M−4.4%#523 of 529

Other business types in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata, CA area?

The Eureka-Arcata area has 95 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 14 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 5.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Eureka-Arcata, CA area spend on food away from home?

About $192.4M a year, or $3,504 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 95 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 54,922 households in the Eureka-Arcata area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Eureka-Arcata, CA area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Eureka-Arcata area has 17.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 57% above 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 Eureka-Arcata area would have about 52, against 95 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,308 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is the Eureka-Arcata, CA area growing?

Population estimates put the Eureka-Arcata area at 131,647 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 54,922 households. The median household income in the Eureka-Arcata area is $61,160 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.3% 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 Eureka-Arcata area scores 21 for coffee shops and cafes (low), #514 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 Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Eureka-Arcata 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 Eureka-Arcata 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.