Food and drink · Metro area · Kentucky
Coffee shops and cafes in the Bowling Green, KY metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in the Bowling Green, KY metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #69 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 53
- 25 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 33
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +28.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $249.9M
- On food away from home · $3,408 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 27% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.2
- 35% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 197,180
- +9.5% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Bowling Green 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 Bowling Green 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 53 coffee shops and cafes in the Bowling Green metro area. Of those, 25 are chain locations, or 47%, against 39% across the U.S. That is 7.2 per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.
At $3,408 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in the Bowling Green metro area spend about $249.9M a year on food away from home. Spread across 53 coffee shops and cafes, that is $4.7M per cafe, 27% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Bowling Green metro area was 33 in 2023, up 28.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,223 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. 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.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bowling Green metro area grew 9.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Bowling Green metro area is 66 (upper middle), #69 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Bowling Green metro area compares
The same measures for Kentucky 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 | Bowling Green metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.2 | 7.4 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $4.7M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 2,223 | 2,979 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +28.0% | +30.4% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +9.5% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,408 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $63,328 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 33All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +28.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 463
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5325 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 68The 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 Bowling Green 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 Bowling Green metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 197,180+9.5% since 2020
- Households
- 73,344
- Median age
- 36.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,614 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 116
- Median household income
- $63,328+27.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,606
- Median home value
- $233,700
- Jobs located here
- 78,351
- Daytime population
- 187,870Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bowling Green 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 Bowling Green 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kentucky for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Bowling Green metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 70 | 750 | 8.3 | $5M | +2.7% | #41 of 387 |
| 1Bowling Green, KY | 66 | 53 | 7.2 | $4.7M | +9.5% | #69 of 387 |
| 2Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 66 | 469 | 8.4 | $4.5M | +2.9% | #71 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 59 | 95 | 6.2 | $5.4M | −2.6% | #116 of 387 |
| 3Owensboro, KY | 57 | 36 | 8.0 | $4.4M | +1.3% | #134 of 387 |
| 4Lexington-Fayette, KY | 56 | 210 | 9.7 | $3.9M | +3.4% | #142 of 387 |
| 5Elizabethtown, KY | 55 | 47 | 9.3 | $3.8M | +2.4% | #154 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 47 | 127 | 10.2 | $3.5M | +8.5% | #219 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 38 | 39 | 9.3 | $3.7M | −1.2% | #292 of 387 |
Other business types in the Bowling Green metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes58
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops38
- Pizza33
- Coffee shops and cafes66
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Bowling Green, KY metro area?
There are 53 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Bowling Green metro area as of September 2026. 25 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 33 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 28.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bowling Green, KY metro area spend on food away from home?
About $249.9M a year, or $3,408 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 53 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.7M per cafe. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes. It is estimated from the incomes of the 73,344 households in the Bowling Green metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bowling Green, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Bowling Green metro area has 7.2 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.7M, 27% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Bowling Green metro area would have about 68, against 53 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,223 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 28.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Bowling Green, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Bowling Green metro area at 197,180 people in 2025, up 9.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 73,344 households. The median household income in the Bowling Green metro area is $63,328 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.4% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Bowling Green metro area scores 66 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #69 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 Bowling Green 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 Bowling Green metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bowling Green 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 Bowling Green 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.