Food and drink · Metro area · California
Coffee shops and cafes in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, 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 24 out of 100: Low
Ranked #368 of 387 scored metro areas
#24 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 171
- 54 chain locations (32%)
- Official establishments
- 110
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +13.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $469.6M
- On food away from home · $4,847 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.7M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 17.6
- 60% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is 24 (low), #368 of 387 scored metro areas and #24 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on food away from home in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area comes to about $469.6M a year: $4,847 per household, 19% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 171 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 32% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 17.6 for every 10,000 households, 60% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 110 businesses with payroll in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 13.4% from 2019. That is one for every 881 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, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $750K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area declined 4.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 17.6 | 14.8 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.7M | $3.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 881 | 1,010 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +13.4% | +13.5% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,847 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 24 | 32 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 110All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +13.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,458
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $34.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 17154 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 127The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $750K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 258,852−4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 96,898
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 445 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 595
- Median household income
- $111,093+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $156,435
- Median home value
- $1,027,500
- Jobs located here
- 95,587
- Daytime population
- 247,989Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 |
| 24Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 24 | 171 | 17.6 | $2.7M | −4.7% | #368 of 387 |
Other business types in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants41
- Fast food and sandwich shops60
- Pizza59
- Coffee shops and cafes24
- Bakeries and dessert shops28
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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 171 coffee shops and cafes in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 54 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 110 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 13.4% 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. Official counts also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $469.6M a year, or $4,847 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 171 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 96,898 households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 17.6 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 60% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.7M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 127, against 171 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 881 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area at 258,852 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 96,898 households. Median household income in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is $111,093, 38% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.1%, 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area scores 24 for coffee shops and cafes (low), #368 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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.