Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Coffee shops and cafes in Harlan County, KY

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in Harlan County, KY, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.

Listings
4
1 chain location (25%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$29.7M
On food away from home · $2,771 a household
Spending per listing
$7.4M
Twice the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.7
66% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
24,725
−7.6% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in Harlan County

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 Harlan County. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 4 coffee shops and cafes in Harlan County. That is 3.7 per 10,000 households, 66% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Households in Harlan County spend about $29.7M a year on food away from home, or $2,771 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. That is about $7.4M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, twice 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.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Harlan County: counts under 3 aren’t published.

Population estimates show Harlan County declined 7.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, Harlan County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Harlan County 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.

Coffee shops and cafes in Harlan County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureHarlan CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.77.411.0
Spending per listing$7.4M$4.7M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)n/a2,9791,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+30.4%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−7.6%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,771$3,489$4,070
Median household income$41,693$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored67

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/aAll snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
41 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 Harlan County, 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 Harlan County

Population, 2025 estimate
24,725−7.6% since 2020
Households
10,731
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
466 sq. mi.
People per square mile
55
Median household income
$41,693+57.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$55,003
Median home value
$73,700
Jobs located here
5,743
Daytime population
24,360Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Harlan County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Harlan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Harlan County marked.

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Bullitt County, KY89144.4$8.8M+5.0%#23 of 2,063
2Scott County, KY87146.2$6.6M+8.2%#41 of 2,063
3Oldham County, KY86166.9$7.2M+4.9%#46 of 2,063
4Woodford County, KY8076.5$6.2M+3.7%#106 of 2,063
5Boone County, KY80418.0$5.4M+6.5%#109 of 2,063
6Kenton County, KY77477.0$5.7M+3.9%#155 of 2,063
7Nelson County, KY76136.8$5.2M+4.8%#175 of 2,063
8Jessamine County, KY75126.0$6.3M+7.8%#186 of 2,063
9Shelby County, KY75137.0$5.6M+6.2%#190 of 2,063
10Madison County, KY72297.8$4.4M+9.4%#257 of 2,063
Harlan County, KYNot scored43.7$7.4M−7.6%

Other business types in Harlan County

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

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in Harlan County, KY?

Harlan County has 4 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. No official count is published for snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Harlan County: counts under 3 are left out.

How much do households in Harlan County, KY spend on food away from home?

About $29.7M a year, or $2,771 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $7.4M 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 10,731 households in Harlan County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Harlan County, KY compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

Harlan County has 3.7 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 66% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $7.4M, twice the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Harlan County would have about 8, against 4 on map listings.

How fast is Harlan County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Harlan County at 24,725 people in 2025, down 7.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,731 households. The median household income in Harlan County is $41,693 a year, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 57.5% 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. Harlan County has no market score for coffee shops and cafes: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Harlan County. 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 Harlan County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Harlan County?

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 Harlan County. 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.