Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Montana

Coffee shops and cafes in Missoula County, MT

How Missoula County, MT 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 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,635 of 2,063 scored counties
#7 of 20 scored counties in Montana

Listings
95
26 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
49
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · −2.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$201.9M
On food away from home · $3,833 a household
Spending per listing
$2.1M
43% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
18.0
64% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
123,513
+4.4% since 2020

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

For coffee shops and cafes, Missoula County has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #1,635 of 2,063 scored counties and #7 of 20 scored counties in Montana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $3,833 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Missoula County spend about $201.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $2.1M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 43% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

Missoula County has 95 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 18.0, 64% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Missoula County was 49 in 2023, down 2.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,075 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. Population estimates put the population change in Missoula County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Missoula County compares

The same measures for Montana 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 Missoula County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasureMissoula CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households18.019.211.0
Spending per listing$2.1M$1.9M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,0751,0751,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.0%+33.9%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.4%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,833$3,748$4,070
Median household income$75,598$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market score3424

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
50 → 49All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · −2.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
656
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9526 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
55The 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 Missoula 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 Missoula County

Population, 2025 estimate
123,513+4.4% since 2020
Households
52,679
Median age
38.7
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,593 sq. mi.
People per square mile
47
Median household income
$75,598+39.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$103,306
Median home value
$472,100
Jobs located here
66,258
Daytime population
128,477Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Missoula 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 Missoula 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 Montana

Every Montana market ranked →

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

Top counties in Montana

Counties in Montana ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ravalli County, MT503217.1$2.1M+9.4%#1,025 of 2,063
2Lewis and Clark County, MT414715.1$2.6M+5.8%#1,359 of 2,063
3Gallatin County, MT3813025.4$1.7M+7.7%#1,506 of 2,063
4Yellowstone County, MT3710715.3$2.5M+4.5%#1,530 of 2,063
5Carbon County, MT361021.4$1.8M+9.1%#1,569 of 2,063
6Richland County, MT35511.3$3.5M−1.3%#1,577 of 2,063
7Missoula County, MT349518.0$2.1M+4.4%#1,635 of 2,063
8Flathead County, MT339721.9$1.7M+10.1%#1,664 of 2,063
9Silver Bow County, MT312113.6$2.4M+2.6%#1,722 of 2,063
10Lake County, MT313023.9$1.5M+6.9%#1,731 of 2,063

Other business types in Missoula County

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

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in Missoula County, MT?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 95 coffee shops and cafes in Missoula County. 26 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, down 2.0% 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. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Missoula County, MT spend on food away from home?

About $201.9M a year, or $3,833 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 95 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 52,679 households in Missoula County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Missoula County has 18.0 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 64% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.1M, 43% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Missoula County would have about 55, against 95 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,075 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is Missoula County, MT growing?

Population estimates put Missoula County at 123,513 people in 2025, up 4.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 52,679 households. Median household income in Missoula County is $75,598, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.8%, 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. Missoula County scores 34 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #1,635 of 2,063 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Missoula 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 Missoula 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.