Food and drink · Metro area · California
Coffee shops and cafes in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 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 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #344 of 387 scored metro areas
#17 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 1,998
- 825 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 1,123
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +13.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $5.5B
- On food away from home · $4,696 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.8M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 17.1
- 55% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,282,248
- −0.6% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is 29 (lower middle), #344 of 387 scored metro areas and #17 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,998 coffee shops and cafes in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Of those, 825 are chain locations, or 41%, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 17.1 for every 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
Household spending on food away from home in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area comes to about $5.5B a year: $4,696 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. Spread across 1,998 coffee shops and cafes, that is $2.8M per cafe, 26% 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area was 1,123 in 2023, up 13.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,043 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, 53 SBA-backed loans worth $15.8M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro 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.
| Measure | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 17.1 | 14.8 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.8M | $3.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 1,043 | 1,010 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +13.9% | +13.5% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,696 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $106,268 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 32 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,123All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +13.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 14,188
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $345.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 179All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,998825 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,485The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 53
- Amount
- $15.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,282,248−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 1,171,278
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 4,211 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 781
- Median household income
- $106,268+34.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $141,250
- Median home value
- $854,700
- Jobs located here
- 1,516,991
- Daytime population
- 3,269,716Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in California, with the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba City, CA | 66 | 51 | 8.2 | $4.7M | +3.3% | #68 of 387 |
| 2Vallejo, CA | 59 | 157 | 10.0 | $4.5M | +0.6% | #119 of 387 |
| 3Stockton-Lodi, CA | 59 | 258 | 10.5 | $4.1M | +5.5% | #124 of 387 |
| 4Merced, CA | 54 | 74 | 8.6 | $4.1M | +5.1% | #163 of 387 |
| 5Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 52 | 1,534 | 10.6 | $4M | +3.5% | #179 of 387 |
| 6Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 45 | 272 | 9.5 | $3.9M | +2.3% | #230 of 387 |
| 7Visalia, CA | 44 | 129 | 9.0 | $4.1M | +2.4% | #237 of 387 |
| 8Fresno, CA | 43 | 382 | 10.3 | $3.7M | +3.2% | #253 of 387 |
| 9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 42 | 1,222 | 13.9 | $3.2M | +3.2% | #263 of 387 |
| 10Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 41 | 40 | 9.1 | $4M | +1.0% | #267 of 387 |
| 17San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 29 | 1,998 | 17.1 | $2.8M | −0.6% | #344 of 387 |
Other business types in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes36
- Sit-down restaurants35
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes29
- Bakeries and dessert shops40
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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area?
There are 1,998 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area as of September 2026. 825 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 1,123 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 13.9% 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 179 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $5.5B a year, or $4,696 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,998 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 1,171,278 households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 17.1 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.8M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area would have about 1,485, against 1,998 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,043 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area at 3,282,248 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,171,278 households. The median household income in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is $106,268 a year, 32% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.6% 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area scores 29 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #344 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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.