Food and drink · County · Minnesota
Coffee shops and cafes in Stearns County, MN
How Stearns County, MN 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 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #1,015 of 2,063 scored counties
#39 of 62 scored counties in Minnesota
- Listings
- 76
- 30 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 34
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +54.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $239.7M
- On food away from home · $3,904 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 15% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.4
- 13% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 164,110
- +3.6% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in Stearns 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 Stearns County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 76 coffee shops and cafes in Stearns County. Chain locations make up 39% of them, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.4, 13% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
Household spending on food away from home in Stearns County comes to about $239.7M a year: $3,904 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 76 coffee shops and cafes, that is $3.2M per cafe, 15% 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 34 businesses with payroll in Stearns County classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 54.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,806 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 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $3.1M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Stearns County.
Population estimates put the population change in Stearns County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, Stearns County has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #1,015 of 2,063 scored counties and #39 of 62 scored counties in Minnesota.
How Stearns 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.
| Measure | Stearns County | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.4 | 10.2 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $4.2M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 1,806 | 2,108 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +54.6% | +19.7% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,904 | $4,330 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $77,066 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 22 → 34All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +54.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 338
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7630 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 65The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $3.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Stearns 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 Stearns County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 164,110+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 61,403
- Median age
- 37.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,343 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 120
- Median household income
- $77,066+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $98,367
- Median home value
- $273,400
- Jobs located here
- 83,579
- Daytime population
- 169,051Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Stearns 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 Stearns County. 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Minnesota for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with Stearns County marked.
Top counties in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sherburne County, MN | 92 | 18 | 5.1 | $9.2M | +6.8% | #14 of 2,063 |
| 2Wright County, MN | 88 | 46 | 8.5 | $5.5M | +11.1% | #35 of 2,063 |
| 3Scott County, MN | 84 | 48 | 8.7 | $5.9M | +5.1% | #58 of 2,063 |
| 4Dakota County, MN | 82 | 125 | 7.2 | $6.6M | +3.9% | #78 of 2,063 |
| 5Anoka County, MN | 82 | 95 | 6.9 | $6.6M | +4.7% | #79 of 2,063 |
| 6Chisago County, MN | 81 | 15 | 7.0 | $6.4M | +4.3% | #89 of 2,063 |
| 7Washington County, MN | 81 | 100 | 9.5 | $5.3M | +6.9% | #96 of 2,063 |
| 8Dodge County, MN | 78 | 6 | 7.4 | $5.8M | +2.3% | #140 of 2,063 |
| 9Clay County, MN | 78 | 21 | 7.9 | $5M | +3.6% | #146 of 2,063 |
| 10Mower County, MN | 76 | 7 | 4.5 | $8.5M | +2.3% | #169 of 2,063 |
| 39Stearns County, MN | 50 | 76 | 12.4 | $3.2M | +3.6% | #1,015 of 2,063 |
Other business types in Stearns County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes55
- Sit-down restaurants60
- Fast food and sandwich shops56
- Pizza50
- Coffee shops and cafes50
- Bakeries and dessert shops69
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 Stearns County, MN?
Stearns County has 76 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 30 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 34 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 54.6% 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 15 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Stearns County, MN spend on food away from home?
About $239.7M a year, or $3,904 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.2M 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 61,403 households in Stearns County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Stearns County, MN compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
Stearns County has 12.4 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.2M, 15% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Stearns County would have about 65, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,806 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 54.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is Stearns County, MN growing?
Population estimates put Stearns County at 164,110 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 61,403 households. The median household income in Stearns County is $77,066 a year, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.7% 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. Stearns County scores 50 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #1,015 of 2,063 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Stearns 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 Stearns County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Stearns 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 Stearns 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.