Food and drink · Small-town market · California
Coffee shops and cafes in the Sonora, CA area
How the Sonora, CA 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 23 out of 100: Low
Ranked #507 of 529 scored small-town markets
#7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 49
- 9 chain locations (18%)
- Official establishments
- 21
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $88.8M
- On food away from home · $3,914 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 51% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 21.6
- 96% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 53,160
- −4.0% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area scores 23 (low) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #507 of 529 scored small-town markets and #7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 49 coffee shops and cafes in the Sonora area. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 21.6 for every 10,000 households, 96% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
At $3,914 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in the Sonora area spend about $88.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $1.8M per cafe, 51% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 21 businesses with payroll in the Sonora area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,080 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. Population estimates show the Sonora area declined 4.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Sonora 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 | Sonora area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 21.6 | 14.8 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $3.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 1,080 | 1,010 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +13.5% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,914 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $77,404 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 23 | 32 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 21All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · 0.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 194
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 499 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Sonora 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 Sonora area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 53,160−4.0% since 2020
- Households
- 22,690
- Median age
- 48.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,221 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 25
- Median household income
- $77,404+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,064
- Median home value
- $433,200
- Jobs located here
- 16,129
- Daytime population
- 40,598Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 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 Sonora area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 43 | 42 | 19.3 | $2.2M | +0.9% | #347 of 529 |
| 1Red Bluff, CA | 39 | 24 | 9.7 | $3.6M | −1.7% | #381 of 529 |
| 2Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 37 | 68 | 15.9 | $2.7M | −0.4% | #403 of 529 |
| 3Clearlake, CA | 36 | 31 | 11.5 | $3.1M | −0.6% | #419 of 529 |
| 4Crescent City, CA | 29 | 16 | 16.8 | $2.1M | −4.4% | #475 of 529 |
| 5Susanville, CA | 28 | 11 | 11.9 | $2.9M | −13.1% | #482 of 529 |
| 6Ukiah, CA | 25 | 54 | 15.5 | $2.4M | −3.5% | #500 of 529 |
| 7Sonora, CA | 23 | 49 | 21.6 | $1.8M | −4.0% | #507 of 529 |
| 8Eureka-Arcata, CA | 21 | 95 | 17.3 | $2M | −3.4% | #514 of 529 |
| 9Bishop, CA | 19 | 21 | 26.1 | $1.5M | −4.4% | #523 of 529 |
Other business types in the Sonora area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes40
- Sit-down restaurants46
- Fast food and sandwich shops74
- Pizza63
- Coffee shops and cafes23
- 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 the Sonora, CA area?
There are 49 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Sonora area as of September 2026. 9 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 21 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Official counts also show 4 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Sonora, CA area spend on food away from home?
About $88.8M a year, or $3,914 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $1.8M 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 22,690 households in the Sonora area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sonora, CA area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Sonora area has 21.6 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 96% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $1.8M, 51% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Sonora area would have about 24, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,080 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Sonora, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Sonora area at 53,160 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,690 households. The median household income in the Sonora area is $77,404 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.8% 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 Sonora area scores 23 for coffee shops and cafes (low), #507 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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.