Food and drink · County · California
Coffee shops and cafes in San Luis Obispo County, CA
How San Luis Obispo County, CA compares with other counties 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 #1,795 of 2,063 scored counties
#41 of 55 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 227
- 69 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 128
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +33.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $486.8M
- On food away from home · $4,446 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 20.7
- 88% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 282,367
- 0.0% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in San Luis Obispo County
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 San Luis Obispo County. 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
For coffee shops and cafes, San Luis Obispo County has a Groundwork market score of 29 (lower middle): #1,795 of 2,063 scored counties and #41 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
At $4,446 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in San Luis Obispo County spend about $486.8M a year on food away from home. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 42% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.
San Luis Obispo County has 227 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 69 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 20.7, 88% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 128 businesses with payroll in San Luis Obispo County classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 33.3% from 2019. That is one for every 855 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in San Luis Obispo County. Population estimates put the population change in San Luis Obispo County from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How San Luis Obispo County 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 Luis Obispo County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 20.7 | 14.8 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $3.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 855 | 1,010 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +33.3% | +13.5% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,446 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $97,446 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 32 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 96 → 128All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +33.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,491
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $34.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 22769 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 131The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $1.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in San Luis Obispo County, 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 San Luis Obispo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 282,3670.0% since 2020
- Households
- 109,503
- Median age
- 42.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,301 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 85
- Median household income
- $97,446+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $132,001
- Median home value
- $824,700
- Jobs located here
- 112,621
- Daytime population
- 276,085Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in San Luis Obispo County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 San Luis Obispo County. 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 counties in California for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in California, with San Luis Obispo County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba County, CA | 80 | 21 | 7.3 | $5.2M | +8.2% | #110 of 2,063 |
| 2San Benito County, CA | 63 | 22 | 10.7 | $4.6M | +8.6% | #503 of 2,063 |
| 3Madera County, CA | 61 | 36 | 7.9 | $4.8M | +7.4% | #562 of 2,063 |
| 4Contra Costa County, CA | 59 | 400 | 9.7 | $5.4M | +0.3% | #638 of 2,063 |
| 5Solano County, CA | 58 | 157 | 10.0 | $4.5M | +0.6% | #690 of 2,063 |
| 6San Joaquin County, CA | 58 | 258 | 10.5 | $4.1M | +5.5% | #699 of 2,063 |
| 7Merced County, CA | 56 | 74 | 8.6 | $4.1M | +5.1% | #777 of 2,063 |
| 8Riverside County, CA | 56 | 837 | 10.8 | $4M | +5.0% | #779 of 2,063 |
| 9Kern County, CA | 50 | 272 | 9.5 | $3.9M | +2.3% | #998 of 2,063 |
| 10Placer County, CA | 50 | 251 | 15.9 | $3.1M | +8.9% | #1,017 of 2,063 |
| 41San Luis Obispo County, CA | 29 | 227 | 20.7 | $2.1M | 0.0% | #1,795 of 2,063 |
Other business types in San Luis Obispo County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes27
- Sit-down restaurants32
- Fast food and sandwich shops50
- Pizza45
- Coffee shops and cafes29
- Bakeries and dessert shops30
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 San Luis Obispo County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 227 coffee shops and cafes in San Luis Obispo County. 69 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 128 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 33.3% from 2019. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too. Another 8 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in San Luis Obispo County, CA spend on food away from home?
About $486.8M a year, or $4,446 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 227 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.1M per cafe. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 109,503 households in San Luis Obispo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does San Luis Obispo County, CA compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
San Luis Obispo County has 20.7 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 88% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.1M, 42% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, San Luis Obispo County would have about 131, against 227 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 855 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 33.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is San Luis Obispo County, CA growing?
Population estimates put San Luis Obispo County at 282,367 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 109,503 households. Median household income in San Luis Obispo County is $97,446, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.6%, 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. San Luis Obispo County scores 29 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #1,795 of 2,063 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in San Luis Obispo County. 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 San Luis Obispo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in San Luis Obispo County?
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 San Luis Obispo County. 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.