Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Indiana

Coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Wayne, IN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #96 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana

Listings
151
61 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
97
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +38.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$682.2M
On food away from home · $3,745 a household
Spending per listing
$4.5M
22% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.3
25% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
466,258
+3.9% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne metro area spend about $682.2M a year on food away from home, or $3,745 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 151 coffee shops and cafes, that is $4.5M per cafe, 22% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

There are 151 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Fort Wayne metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 61 are chain locations, or 40%, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.3, 25% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Fort Wayne metro area was 97 in 2023, up 38.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,878 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 list 15 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $925K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Fort Wayne metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Wayne metro area grew 3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Wayne metro area is 62 (upper middle), #96 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Fort Wayne metro area compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Fort Wayne, IN metro area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureFort Wayne metro areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.38.011.0
Spending per listing$4.5M$4.8M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,8782,1251,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+38.6%+40.8%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,745$3,802$4,070
Median household income$71,213$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score6270

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
97All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +38.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,216
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
15All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
15161 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
184The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$925K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
466,258+3.9% since 2020
Households
182,145
Median age
37.6
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,361 sq. mi.
People per square mile
335
Median household income
$71,213
Average household income
$93,321
Median home value
$214,100
Jobs located here
229,223
Daytime population
467,926Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne 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 Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Indiana

Metro areas in Indiana ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, IN83236.9$5.8M+4.3%#5 of 387
2Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN777038.3$4.9M+5.4%#20 of 387
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN707508.3$5M+2.7%#41 of 387
3Evansville, IN66827.2$5.2M+1.6%#67 of 387
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN664698.4$4.5M+2.9%#71 of 387
4Fort Wayne, IN621518.3$4.5M+3.9%#96 of 387
5Muncie, IN55316.7$4.9M+1.2%#147 of 387
6Michigan City-La Porte, IN54378.5$4.4M−0.9%#161 of 387
7Bloomington, IN52578.4$4.3M+2.0%#176 of 387
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN523,99911.0$4M0.0%#178 of 387

Other business types in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne, IN metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 151 coffee shops and cafes in the Fort Wayne metro area. 61 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 97 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 38.6% 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 Fort Wayne, IN metro area spend on food away from home?

About $682.2M a year, or $3,745 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 151 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.5M 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 182,145 households in the Fort Wayne metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Wayne, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Fort Wayne metro area has 8.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 25% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.5M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Fort Wayne metro area would have about 184, against 151 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,878 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 38.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Wayne, IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Wayne metro area at 466,258 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 182,145 households. Median household income in the Fort Wayne metro area is $71,213, 12% 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. 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 Fort Wayne metro area scores 62 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #96 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 Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Wayne 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 Fort Wayne 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.