Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Coffee shops and cafes in Blue Earth County, MN

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,325 of 2,063 scored counties
#50 of 62 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
34
20 chain locations (59%)
Official establishments
18
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$104.6M
On food away from home · $3,790 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.3
12% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
70,634
+2.1% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth 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 34 coffee shops and cafes in Blue Earth County. 20 of them (59%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.3, 12% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Household spending on food away from home in Blue Earth County comes to about $104.6M a year: $3,790 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 17% below 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 18 businesses with payroll in Blue Earth County classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 1,534 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $75K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Blue Earth County.

Population estimates put the population change in Blue Earth County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, Blue Earth County has a Groundwork market score of 42 (lower middle): #1,325 of 2,063 scored counties and #50 of 62 scored counties in Minnesota.

How Blue Earth County compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Blue Earth County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureBlue Earth CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.310.211.0
Spending per listing$3.1M$4.2M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,5342,1081,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+19.7%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.1%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,790$4,330$4,070
Median household income$74,477$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score4271

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
18 → 18All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
269
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3420 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
28The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$75K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
70,634+2.1% since 2020
Households
27,606
Median age
34.2
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
748 sq. mi.
People per square mile
93
Median household income
$74,477+29.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$93,438
Median home value
$266,700
Jobs located here
37,905
Daytime population
76,062Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

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

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sherburne County, MN92185.1$9.2M+6.8%#14 of 2,063
2Wright County, MN88468.5$5.5M+11.1%#35 of 2,063
3Scott County, MN84488.7$5.9M+5.1%#58 of 2,063
4Dakota County, MN821257.2$6.6M+3.9%#78 of 2,063
5Anoka County, MN82956.9$6.6M+4.7%#79 of 2,063
6Chisago County, MN81157.0$6.4M+4.3%#89 of 2,063
7Washington County, MN811009.5$5.3M+6.9%#96 of 2,063
8Dodge County, MN7867.4$5.8M+2.3%#140 of 2,063
9Clay County, MN78217.9$5M+3.6%#146 of 2,063
10Mower County, MN7674.5$8.5M+2.3%#169 of 2,063
50Blue Earth County, MN423412.3$3.1M+2.1%#1,325 of 2,063

Other business types in Blue Earth County

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

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in Blue Earth County, MN?

Blue Earth County has 34 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 20 of them (59%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 18 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes.

How much do households in Blue Earth County, MN spend on food away from home?

About $104.6M a year, or $3,790 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 34 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 27,606 households in Blue Earth County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Blue Earth County, MN compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

Blue Earth County has 12.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.1M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Blue Earth County would have about 28, against 34 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,534 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is Blue Earth County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Blue Earth County at 70,634 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,606 households. The median household income in Blue Earth County is $74,477 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.7% 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. Blue Earth County scores 42 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #1,325 of 2,063 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth 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.