Food and drink · Metro area · Iowa
Coffee shops and cafes in the Ames, IA metro area
How the Ames, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #318 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 66
- 25 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 37
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +48.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $192.9M
- On food away from home · $3,870 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.9M
- 21% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.2
- 20% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Ames 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 Ames metro 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
For coffee shops and cafes, the Ames metro area has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #318 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Households in the Ames metro area spend about $192.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,870 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $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.
The Ames metro area has 66 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 25 of them (38%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.2, 20% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Ames metro area in 2023, up 48.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,347 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $200K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Ames metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ames metro area grew 2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ames metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.2 | 11.8 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $2.9M | $3.3M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 1,347 | 1,702 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +48.0% | +51.3% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,870 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 34 | 40 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 37All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +48.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 474
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6625 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 52The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $200K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Ames 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 Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 Ames metro 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 54 | 364 | 12.3 | $3.4M | +6.7% | #167 of 387 |
| 2Cedar Rapids, IA | 50 | 114 | 10.0 | $4M | +1.0% | #194 of 387 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 50 | 515 | 13.2 | $3.2M | +4.2% | #200 of 387 |
| 3Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 43 | 65 | 9.4 | $4M | +0.5% | #250 of 387 |
| 4Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 39 | 170 | 10.5 | $3.6M | −0.9% | #281 of 387 |
| 5Iowa City, IA | 38 | 105 | 14.5 | $2.8M | +4.1% | #296 of 387 |
| 6Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 35 | 73 | 13.2 | $2.9M | +1.0% | #312 of 387 |
| 7Ames, IA | 34 | 66 | 13.2 | $2.9M | +2.2% | #318 of 387 |
| 8Dubuque, IA | 31 | 57 | 13.9 | $2.8M | +0.1% | #336 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ames metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes61
- Sit-down restaurants64
- Fast food and sandwich shops58
- Pizza44
- Coffee shops and cafes34
- Bakeries and dessert shops61
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 Ames, IA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 66 coffee shops and cafes in the Ames metro area. 25 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 48.0% 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 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $192.9M a year, or $3,870 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 66 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 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Ames metro area has 13.2 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 20% 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, the Ames metro area would have about 52, against 66 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,347 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 48.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ames metro area scores 34 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #318 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 Ames 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 Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.