Food and drink · Metro area · Kentucky
Coffee shops and cafes in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area
How the Lexington-Fayette, KY 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 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #142 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 210
- 89 chain locations (42%)
- Official establishments
- 107
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +46.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $816.9M
- On food away from home · $3,777 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.9M
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.7
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 535,174
- +3.4% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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
At $3,777 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area spend about $816.9M a year on food away from home. Spread across 210 coffee shops and cafes, that is $3.9M per cafe, 5% 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 210 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Lexington-Fayette metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 42% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 9.7 per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 107 businesses with payroll in the Lexington-Fayette metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 46.6% from 2019. That is one for every 2,021 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 also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $795K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Lexington-Fayette metro area.
Population estimates show the Lexington-Fayette metro area grew 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is 56 (upper middle), #142 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Lexington-Fayette 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 | Lexington-Fayette metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.7 | 7.4 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.9M | $4.7M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 2,021 | 2,979 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +46.6% | +30.4% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,777 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $71,966 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 107All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +46.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,560
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $28.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 21089 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 221The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $795K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 535,174+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 216,273
- Median age
- 38.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,470 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 355
- Median household income
- $71,966+22.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,014
- Median home value
- $281,300
- Jobs located here
- 289,772
- Daytime population
- 573,681Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes43
- Sit-down restaurants40
- Fast food and sandwich shops42
- Pizza37
- Coffee shops and cafes56
- Bakeries and dessert shops52
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 Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 210 coffee shops and cafes in the Lexington-Fayette metro area. 89 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 107 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 46.6% 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. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area spend on food away from home?
About $816.9M a year, or $3,777 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 210 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.9M 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 216,273 households in the Lexington-Fayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Lexington-Fayette metro area has 9.7 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.9M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Lexington-Fayette metro area would have about 221, against 210 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,021 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 46.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lexington-Fayette, KY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lexington-Fayette metro area at 535,174 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 216,273 households. Median household income in the Lexington-Fayette metro area is $71,966, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.6%, 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area scores 56 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #142 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 Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lexington-Fayette 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 Lexington-Fayette 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.