Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · New York

Coffee shops and cafes in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #280 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
516
276 chain locations (53%)
Official establishments
285
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +17.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.9B
On food away from home · $3,782 a household
Spending per listing
$3.7M
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.3
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,155,653
−0.8% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area spend about $1.9B a year on food away from home, or $3,782 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 516 coffee shops and cafes, that is $3.7M per cafe, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

There are 516 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 276 are chain locations, or 53%, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.3, 6% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Official counts show 285 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area in 2023, up 17.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,760 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. Official counts list 42 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 23 SBA-backed loans worth $3.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area.

Population estimates show the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area declined 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area is 39 (lower middle), #280 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.

How the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureBuffalo-Cheektowaga metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.312.211.0
Spending per listing$3.7M$3.5M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,7601,0751,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+17.8%+17.3%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.8%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,782$4,270$4,070
Median household income$72,237$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score3936

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
285All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +17.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,324
Annual payroll, 2023
$74.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
42All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
516276 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
512The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
23
Amount
$3.5M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,155,653−0.8% since 2020
Households
501,549
Median age
42.1
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,565 sq. mi.
People per square mile
742
Median household income
$72,237+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,175
Median home value
$226,100
Jobs located here
547,190
Daytime population
1,174,035Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Coffee shops and cafes across New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in New York, with the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY553749.8$4.3M+1.9%#151 of 387
2Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY5427710.9$4.1M+3.0%#162 of 387
3Elmira, NY48216.0$5.8M−3.9%#207 of 387
4Rochester, NY464249.5$4.1M−0.7%#224 of 387
5Glens Falls, NY41468.4$4.5M−1.9%#266 of 387
6New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ419,20812.5$3.7M+0.6%#269 of 387
7Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY3951610.3$3.7M−0.8%#280 of 387
8Binghamton, NY38848.2$4.3M−1.3%#290 of 387
9Utica-Rome, NY381088.9$4.1M−2.0%#291 of 387
10Syracuse, NY372629.7$4M−1.3%#297 of 387

Other business types in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 516 coffee shops and cafes in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. 276 of them (53%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 285 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 17.8% 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 also show 42 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1.9B a year, or $3,782 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 516 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 501,549 households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area has 10.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.7M, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area would have about 512, against 516 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,760 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 17.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area at 1,155,653 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 501,549 households. Median household income in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area is $72,237, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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. The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area scores 39 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #280 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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.