Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maryland

Coffee shops and cafes in Montgomery County, MD

How Montgomery County, MD compares with other counties and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 72 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #248 of 2,063 scored counties
#13 of 24 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
339
198 chain locations (58%)
Official establishments
202
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +8.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2B
On food away from home · $5,254 a household
Spending per listing
$6M
63% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.7
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,074,582
+1.3% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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

At $5,254 per household (29% above the U.S. average), households in Montgomery County spend about $2B a year on food away from home. Spread across 339 coffee shops and cafes, that is $6M per cafe, 63% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

Montgomery County has 339 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 198 of them (58%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.7, 21% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Official counts show 202 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Montgomery County in 2023, up 8.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,927 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. Another 37 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $968K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Montgomery County.

Population estimates show Montgomery County grew 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, Montgomery County has a Groundwork market score of 72 (upper middle): #248 of 2,063 scored counties and #13 of 24 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Montgomery County compares

The same measures for Maryland 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 Montgomery County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureMontgomery CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.77.611.0
Spending per listing$6M$6.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,9272,1921,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.0%+5.7%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$5,254$4,604$4,070
Median household income$132,450$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score7282

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
187 → 202All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +8.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,856
Annual payroll, 2023
$68.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
37All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
339198 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
552The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$968K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County

Population, 2025 estimate
1,074,582+1.3% since 2020
Households
389,210
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
493 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2,162
Median household income
$132,450+21.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$181,353
Median home value
$640,300
Jobs located here
491,378
Daytime population
1,073,010Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

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

Top counties in Maryland

Counties in Maryland ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charles County, MD92315.1$9.8M+5.9%#13 of 2,063
2Frederick County, MD87716.8$7.4M+11.0%#40 of 2,063
3Calvert County, MD85236.9$7.6M+1.7%#48 of 2,063
4Prince George’s County, MD831805.2$8.7M+0.5%#61 of 2,063
5St. Mary’s County, MD81214.9$10M+2.4%#85 of 2,063
6Harford County, MD79474.6$10.2M+2.0%#113 of 2,063
7Carroll County, MD79416.4$7.7M+2.2%#114 of 2,063
8Cecil County, MD78348.4$5M+3.2%#145 of 2,063
9Howard County, MD74988.1$6.9M+1.9%#198 of 2,063
10Queen Anne’s County, MD742110.5$4.5M+8.8%#217 of 2,063
13Montgomery County, MD723398.7$6M+1.3%#248 of 2,063

Other business types in Montgomery County

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

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in Montgomery County, MD?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 339 coffee shops and cafes in Montgomery County. 198 of them (58%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 202 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 8.0% 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. Official counts list 37 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Montgomery County, MD spend on food away from home?

About $2B a year, or $5,254 per household. That is 29% above the U.S. average (an index of 129, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 339 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $6M 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 389,210 households in Montgomery County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Montgomery County has 8.7 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $6M, 63% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Montgomery County would have about 552, against 339 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,927 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is Montgomery County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Montgomery County at 1,074,582 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 389,210 households. Median household income in Montgomery County is $132,450, 64% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.7%, 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. Montgomery County scores 72 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #248 of 2,063 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.