Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Coffee shops and cafes in the Forest City, NC area
The coffee shops and cafes in the Forest City, NC area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #278 of 529 scored small-town markets
#17 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 27
- 7 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Household spending a year
- $82.3M
- On food away from home · $3,088 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.1
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 65,745
- +2.1% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Forest City 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 Forest City area. 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Forest City area comes to about $82.3M a year: $3,088 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. That is about $3M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.
There are 27 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Forest City area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 26% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 10.1 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Forest City area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 3,806 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 show the Forest City area grew 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Forest City area is 49 (lower middle), #278 of 529 scored small-town markets and #17 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Forest City area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Forest City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.1 | 9.3 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $4.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 3,806 | 1,926 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +41.8% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,088 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,410 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Employees, 2023
- 65
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 277 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The 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 the Forest City 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 Forest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 65,745+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 26,642
- Median age
- 44.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $51,410+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,230
- Median home value
- $201,800
- Jobs located here
- 19,241
- Daytime population
- 55,091Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forest City 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 Forest City area. 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Forest City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 85 | 36 | 7.2 | $5M | +12.3% | #4 of 529 |
| 2Lumberton, NC | 72 | 19 | 4.4 | $6.4M | +3.4% | #41 of 529 |
| 3Sanford, NC | 70 | 17 | 6.8 | $5.1M | +10.8% | #59 of 529 |
| 4Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 69 | 28 | 7.2 | $4.5M | +3.4% | #64 of 529 |
| 5Marion, NC | 65 | 8 | 4.3 | $7.5M | +1.5% | #98 of 529 |
| 6Wilson, NC | 64 | 24 | 7.3 | $4.4M | +1.7% | #112 of 529 |
| 7New Bern, NC | 64 | 45 | 8.6 | $4M | +3.6% | #113 of 529 |
| 8Henderson, NC | 63 | 6 | 3.7 | $8.3M | +0.2% | #117 of 529 |
| 9North Wilkesboro, NC | 61 | 14 | 5.2 | $5.8M | +0.6% | #143 of 529 |
| 10Waynesville, NC | 59 | 24 | 8.8 | $3.8M | +1.9% | #172 of 529 |
| 17Forest City, NC | 49 | 27 | 10.1 | $3M | +2.1% | #278 of 529 |
Other business types in the Forest City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes55
- Sit-down restaurants48
- Fast food and sandwich shops57
- Pizza45
- Coffee shops and cafes49
- Bakeries and dessert shops52
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 the Forest City, NC area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 27 coffee shops and cafes in the Forest City area. 7 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 7 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 Forest City, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $82.3M a year, or $3,088 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3M 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 26,642 households in the Forest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forest City, NC area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Forest City area has 10.1 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Forest City area would have about 22, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,806 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forest City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Forest City area at 65,745 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,642 households. Median household income in the Forest City area is $51,410, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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 Forest City area scores 49 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #278 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 Forest City 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 Forest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forest City 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 Forest City 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.