Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Nebraska

Coffee shops and cafes in the Norfolk, NE area

How the Norfolk, NE area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #224 of 529 scored small-town markets
#4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska

Listings
21
10 chain locations (48%)
Official establishments
9
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$71.1M
On food away from home · $3,625 a household
Spending per listing
$3.4M
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.7
3% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,228
+1.1% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk area. 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 $3,625 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in the Norfolk area spend about $71.1M a year on food away from home. That works out to $3.4M per cafe, 9% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The Norfolk area has 21 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 48% of them, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.7, 3% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Norfolk area in 2023. That is one for every 2,180 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $155K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Norfolk area.

Population estimates show the Norfolk area grew 1.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Norfolk area is 54 (upper middle), #224 of 529 scored small-town markets and #4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.

How the Norfolk area compares

The same measures for Nebraska 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 Norfolk, NE area compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureNorfolk areaNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.712.911.0
Spending per listing$3.4M$3.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,1801,6021,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+35.3%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.1%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,625$3,946$4,070
Median household income$65,968$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market score5442

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
84
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2110 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$155K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk area

Population, 2025 estimate
49,228+1.1% since 2020
Households
19,617
Median age
38.9
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,574 sq. mi.
People per square mile
31
Median household income
$65,968+18.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,357
Median home value
$204,700
Jobs located here
24,757
Daytime population
48,024Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Norfolk area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Norfolk area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Nebraska for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with the Norfolk area marked.

Top small-town markets in Nebraska

Small-town markets in Nebraska ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Beatrice, NE6877.5$4.8M+0.2%#72 of 529
2Columbus, NE571910.9$3.4M+3.8%#198 of 529
3Fremont, NE551610.5$3.5M+2.6%#218 of 529
4Norfolk, NE542110.7$3.4M+1.1%#224 of 529
5Kearney, NE463214.0$2.7M+1.9%#309 of 529
6Hastings, NE422011.7$3.1M−0.2%#351 of 529
7Lexington, NE411414.0$2.6M+1.1%#365 of 529
8North Platte, NE361610.5$3.3M−3.6%#415 of 529
9Scottsbluff, NE351912.4$2.8M−1.2%#435 of 529

Other business types in the Norfolk area

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

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Norfolk, NE area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 21 coffee shops and cafes in the Norfolk area. 10 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too.

How much do households in the Norfolk, NE area spend on food away from home?

About $71.1M a year, or $3,625 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 19,617 households in the Norfolk area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Norfolk, NE area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Norfolk area has 10.7 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.4M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Norfolk area would have about 19, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,180 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Norfolk, NE area growing?

Population estimates put the Norfolk area at 49,228 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,617 households. Median household income in the Norfolk area is $65,968, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 18.2%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Norfolk area scores 54 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #224 of 529 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Norfolk 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 Norfolk 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.