Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · North Carolina

Coffee shops and cafes in the Greenville, NC metro area

The coffee shops and cafes in the Greenville, NC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #165 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina

Listings
66
33 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
30
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +25.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$248.5M
On food away from home · $3,334 a household
Spending per listing
$3.8M
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.9
19% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
182,936
+5.4% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Greenville 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 Greenville metro 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

Households in the Greenville metro area spend about $248.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,334 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.8M per cafe, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

There are 66 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Greenville metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 50% of them, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.9, 19% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 30 businesses with payroll in the Greenville metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 25.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,484 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 also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $198K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Greenville metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Greenville metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +5.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Greenville metro area scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #165 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.

How the Greenville metro 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.

Coffee shops and cafes in Greenville, NC metro area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureGreenville metro areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.99.311.0
Spending per listing$3.8M$4.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,4841,9261,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+25.0%+41.8%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.4%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,334$3,776$4,070
Median household income$58,188$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score5464

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
30All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +25.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
483
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6633 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
67The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$198K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
182,936+5.4% since 2020
Households
74,533
Median age
35.8
Homes lived in by their owners
51%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
652 sq. mi.
People per square mile
272
Median household income
$58,188+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,802
Median home value
$208,900
Jobs located here
82,213
Daytime population
183,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Greenville 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 Greenville metro 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 North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Greenville metro area marked.

Top metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC749378.7$4.7M+10.1%#30 of 387
2Durham-Chapel Hill, NC742389.6$4.4M+7.5%#32 of 387
3Raleigh-Cary, NC7159610.4$4.3M+12.6%#39 of 387
4Winston-Salem, NC702127.5$4.7M+5.3%#42 of 387
5Rocky Mount, NC65396.7$5M+2.8%#76 of 387
6Greensboro-High Point, NC652397.5$4.7M+4.1%#77 of 387
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC656158.7$4.6M+0.9%#78 of 387
7Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC604710.7$3.8M+10.3%#114 of 387
8Burlington, NC59578.1$4.3M+8.5%#120 of 387
9Goldsboro, NC59388.0$4.1M+3.8%#123 of 387
10Greenville, NC54668.9$3.8M+5.4%#165 of 387

Other business types in the Greenville 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 Greenville, NC metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 66 coffee shops and cafes in the Greenville metro area. 33 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 25.0% 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 the Greenville, NC metro area spend on food away from home?

About $248.5M a year, or $3,334 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 66 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 74,533 households in the Greenville metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Greenville, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Greenville metro area has 8.9 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.8M, 2% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Greenville metro area would have about 67, against 66 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,484 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 25.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is the Greenville, NC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Greenville metro area at 182,936 people in 2025, up 5.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 74,533 households. Median household income in the Greenville metro area is $58,188, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.7%, 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. 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 Greenville metro area scores 54 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #165 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 Greenville 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 Greenville metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Greenville 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 Greenville 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.