Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Florida

Coffee shops and cafes in Alachua County, FL

How Alachua County, FL 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,289 of 2,063 scored counties
#50 of 58 scored counties in Florida

Listings
143
65 chain locations (45%)
Official establishments
66
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +20.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$417.4M
On food away from home · $3,574 a household
Spending per listing
$2.9M
21% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.2
11% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
290,028
+3.7% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in Alachua 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 Alachua County. 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

Household spending on food away from home in Alachua County comes to about $417.4M a year: $3,574 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. Spread across 143 coffee shops and cafes, that is $2.9M per cafe, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

Alachua County has 143 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 45% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 12.2 per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Official counts show 66 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Alachua County in 2023, up 20.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,769 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. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $3.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Alachua County.

Population estimates show Alachua County grew 3.7% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, Alachua County has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #1,289 of 2,063 scored counties and #50 of 58 scored counties in Florida.

How Alachua County compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Alachua County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureAlachua CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.210.411.0
Spending per listing$2.9M$3.7M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,7691,9101,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+20.0%+35.2%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.7%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,574$3,841$4,070
Median household income$61,949$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score4360

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
55 → 66All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +20.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
744
Annual payroll, 2023
$15.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
10All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
14365 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
113The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$3.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Alachua 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 Alachua County

Population, 2025 estimate
290,028+3.7% since 2020
Households
116,786
Median age
36.6
Homes lived in by their owners
54%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
876 sq. mi.
People per square mile
326
Median household income
$61,949+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,386
Median home value
$288,800
Jobs located here
139,721
Daytime population
316,161Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Alachua 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 Alachua County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Florida for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Florida, with Alachua County marked.

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sumter County, FL90365.1$7.3M+21.1%#21 of 2,063
2Nassau County, FL85307.6$5.5M+17.4%#52 of 2,063
3Santa Rosa County, FL85567.7$5.4M+11.7%#53 of 2,063
4Baker County, FL8455.5$7.1M+5.8%#56 of 2,063
5Flagler County, FL81377.0$5.5M+21.0%#94 of 2,063
6Wakulla County, FL8197.1$5.4M+12.3%#95 of 2,063
7Clay County, FL80546.5$6.3M+9.4%#104 of 2,063
8Citrus County, FL78375.2$6.3M+11.1%#136 of 2,063
9Marion County, FL78955.8$5.8M+17.3%#141 of 2,063
10Pasco County, FL781697.2$5.2M+19.1%#143 of 2,063
50Alachua County, FL4314312.2$2.9M+3.7%#1,289 of 2,063

Other business types in Alachua County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in Alachua County, FL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 143 coffee shops and cafes in Alachua County. 65 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 66 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 20.0% 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 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Alachua County, FL spend on food away from home?

About $417.4M a year, or $3,574 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.9M 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 116,786 households in Alachua County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Alachua County, FL compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

Alachua County has 12.2 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.9M, 21% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Alachua County would have about 113, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,769 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is Alachua County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Alachua County at 290,028 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 116,786 households. Median household income in Alachua County is $61,949, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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. Alachua County scores 43 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #1,289 of 2,063 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Alachua 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 Alachua County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Alachua 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 Alachua 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.