Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Coffee shops and cafes in the Canton, IL area

How the Canton, IL 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 26 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #495 of 529 scored small-town markets
#18 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
17
3 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
10
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$47.5M
On food away from home · $3,442 a household
Spending per listing
$2.8M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.3
12% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
32,901
−2.0% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Canton 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 Canton 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

For coffee shops and cafes, the Canton area has a Groundwork market score of 26 (lower middle): #495 of 529 scored small-town markets and #18 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

At $3,442 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Canton area spend about $47.5M a year on food away from home. That works out to $2.8M per cafe, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The Canton area has 17 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 18%, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.3, 12% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Canton area was 10 in 2023. That is one for every 1,380 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. Population estimates show the Canton area declined 2.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Canton area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Canton, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCanton areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.310.311.0
Spending per listing$2.8M$4.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,3801,8811,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+22.5%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,442$4,215$4,070
Median household income$60,599$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score2657

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
97
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
3All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
173 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
13The 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 Canton 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 Canton area

Population, 2025 estimate
32,901−2.0% since 2020
Households
13,795
Median age
44.1
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
866 sq. mi.
People per square mile
38
Median household income
$60,599
Average household income
$78,763
Median home value
$107,200
Jobs located here
8,322
Daytime population
27,980Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Canton 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 Canton 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Canton area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rochelle, IL80146.7$5.9M−0.7%#9 of 529
2Effingham, IL76105.5$7M−0.9%#20 of 529
3Charleston-Mattoon, IL68115.3$6.3M−1.0%#68 of 529
4Dixon, IL6896.7$5.5M−3.4%#70 of 529
5Mount Vernon, IL6796.1$5.7M−2.3%#78 of 529
6Pontiac, IL67128.2$4.6M−2.1%#81 of 529
7Marion-Herrin, IL67237.9$4.6M+0.2%#82 of 529
8Freeport, IL6294.6$7.5M−3.0%#126 of 529
9Ottawa, IL57589.4$4M−1.6%#193 of 529
10Danville, IL55175.7$5.9M−3.7%#212 of 529
18Canton, IL261712.3$2.8M−2.0%#495 of 529

Other business types in the Canton 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 Canton, IL area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 coffee shops and cafes in the Canton area. 3 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 10 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. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Canton, IL area spend on food away from home?

About $47.5M a year, or $3,442 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.8M 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 13,795 households in the Canton area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Canton, IL area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Canton area has 12.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.8M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Canton area would have about 13, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,380 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Canton, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Canton area at 32,901 people in 2025, down 2.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,795 households. Median household income in the Canton area is $60,599, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Canton area scores 26 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #495 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 Canton 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 Canton area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Canton 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 Canton 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.