Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Georgia

Coffee shops and cafes in the Dalton, GA metro area

The coffee shops and cafes in the Dalton, GA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #47 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia

Listings
37
8 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
15
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$179.9M
On food away from home · $3,455 a household
Spending per listing
$4.9M
31% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.1
35% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
147,819
+3.5% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Dalton 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 Dalton metro area. 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

Households in the Dalton metro area spend about $179.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,455 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.9M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 31% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The Dalton metro area has 37 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 22% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 7.1 for every 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in the Dalton metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 3,472 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 7 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $464K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Dalton metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Dalton metro area grew 3.5%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, the Dalton metro area has a Groundwork market score of 69 (upper middle): #47 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Dalton metro area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Dalton, GA metro area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureDalton metro areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.19.011.0
Spending per listing$4.9M$4.4M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)3,4721,9201,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+46.8%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.5%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,455$3,917$4,070
Median household income$67,846$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score6970

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
221
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
7All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
378 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
49The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$464K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Dalton 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 Dalton metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
147,819+3.5% since 2020
Households
52,080
Median age
37.7
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
635 sq. mi.
People per square mile
227
Median household income
$67,846+39.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,684
Median home value
$208,800
Jobs located here
67,757
Daytime population
144,718Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Dalton 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 Dalton metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dalton metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Georgia

Metro areas in Georgia ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hinesville, GA79144.6$7M+12.6%#10 of 387
2Warner Robins, GA78435.8$6.6M+8.2%#15 of 387
3Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC761566.7$5.4M+4.7%#21 of 387
4Macon-Bibb County, GA69536.0$5.7M+2.1%#44 of 387
5Dalton, GA69377.1$4.9M+3.5%#47 of 387
6Gainesville, GA67709.5$4.2M+11.4%#63 of 387
7Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA662,2809.9$4.3M+5.9%#72 of 387
8Rome, GA63246.5$5.4M+2.8%#88 of 387
Chattanooga, TN-GA622109.1$4.1M+5.3%#99 of 387
9Albany, GA60325.5$5.8M−1.8%#109 of 387

Other business types in the Dalton metro area

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

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Dalton, GA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 37 coffee shops and cafes in the Dalton metro area. 8 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. 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 7 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Dalton, GA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $179.9M a year, or $3,455 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 37 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.9M 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 52,080 households in the Dalton metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Dalton, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Dalton metro area has 7.1 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.9M, 31% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Dalton metro area would have about 49, against 37 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,472 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Dalton, GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Dalton metro area at 147,819 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 52,080 households. Median household income in the Dalton metro area is $67,846, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.9%, 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 Dalton metro area scores 69 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #47 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 Dalton 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 Dalton metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dalton 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 Dalton 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.