Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Coffee shops and cafes in the Ashland, OH area

The coffee shops and cafes in the Ashland, OH area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #169 of 529 scored small-town markets
#16 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
13
6 chain locations (46%)
Official establishments
12
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$72.9M
On food away from home · $3,518 a household
Spending per listing
$5.6M
51% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.3
43% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
52,523
+0.1% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in the Ashland area comes to about $72.9M a year: $3,518 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 13 coffee shops and cafes, that is $5.6M per cafe, 51% 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 13 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Ashland area as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 46%, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 6.3 for every 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Ashland area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 1,727 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, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $92K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Ashland area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Ashland area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Ashland area scores 59 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #169 of 529 scored small-town markets and #16 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio.

How the Ashland area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Ashland, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureAshland areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.38.011.0
Spending per listing$5.6M$4.8M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,7271,9961,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+27.9%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,518$3,829$4,070
Median household income$69,860$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score5964

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
119
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
136 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$92K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
52,523+0.1% since 2020
Households
20,720
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
423 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$69,860+32.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,890
Median home value
$186,800
Jobs located here
18,646
Daytime population
47,965Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wilmington, OH8163.6$10.3M+0.6%#7 of 529
2Coshocton, OH7074.7$6.9M+1.6%#57 of 529
3Mount Vernon, OH70208.5$4.5M+1.9%#61 of 529
4Norwalk, OH69156.4$5.6M−0.4%#63 of 529
5Sidney, OH6694.8$8M−0.2%#86 of 529
6Van Wert, OH6665.2$6.8M+0.3%#89 of 529
7Celina, OH66116.7$5.6M+0.5%#90 of 529
8Marion, OH65166.5$5.2M−0.4%#101 of 529
9Marietta, OH62124.8$7.2M−2.1%#127 of 529
10Bellefontaine, OH62115.6$6.6M+0.4%#129 of 529
16Ashland, OH59136.3$5.6M+0.1%#169 of 529

Other business types in the Ashland 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 Ashland, OH area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 13 coffee shops and cafes in the Ashland area. 6 of them (46%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 12 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 Ashland, OH area spend on food away from home?

About $72.9M a year, or $3,518 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $5.6M 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 20,720 households in the Ashland area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Ashland area has 6.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $5.6M, 51% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Ashland area would have about 20, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,727 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ashland, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Ashland area at 52,523 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 20,720 households. Median household income in the Ashland area is $69,860, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.3%, 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 Ashland area scores 59 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #169 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 Ashland 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 Ashland area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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.