Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Coffee shops and cafes in the Salem, OH area

How the Salem, OH 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 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #228 of 529 scored small-town markets
#23 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
23
5 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
22
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$138.6M
On food away from home · $3,342 a household
Spending per listing
$6M
63% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.5
50% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
99,377
−2.2% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Salem 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 Salem 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 Salem area spend about $138.6M a year on food away from home, or $3,342 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $6M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 63% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The Salem area has 23 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 5 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.5, 50% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 22 businesses with payroll in the Salem area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 1,885 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. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $575K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Salem area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Salem area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For coffee shops and cafes, the Salem area has a Groundwork market score of 53 (upper middle): #228 of 529 scored small-town markets and #23 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio.

How the Salem 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 Salem, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureSalem areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.58.011.0
Spending per listing$6M$4.8M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,8851,9961,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+27.9%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.2%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,342$3,829$4,070
Median household income$58,180$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score5364

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
22All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
328
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
235 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
37The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$575K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
99,377−2.2% since 2020
Households
41,459
Median age
44.5
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
532 sq. mi.
People per square mile
189
Median household income
$58,180+20.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$78,065
Median home value
$151,600
Jobs located here
28,013
Daytime population
85,744Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Salem 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 Salem 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 Salem 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
23Salem, OH53235.5$6M−2.2%#228 of 529

Other business types in the Salem 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 Salem, OH area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 23 coffee shops and cafes in the Salem area. 5 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 22 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. Official counts list 6 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Salem, OH area spend on food away from home?

About $138.6M a year, or $3,342 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $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 41,459 households in the Salem area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Salem area has 5.5 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $6M, 63% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Salem area would have about 37, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,885 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Salem, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Salem area at 99,377 people in 2025, down 2.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 41,459 households. Median household income in the Salem area is $58,180, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.3%, 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 Salem area scores 53 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #228 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 Salem 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 Salem area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Salem 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 Salem 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.