Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Coffee shops and cafes in the Altoona, PA metro area

How the Altoona, PA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #222 of 387 scored metro areas
#15 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
34
6 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
29
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$173.8M
On food away from home · $3,438 a household
Spending per listing
$5.1M
38% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.7
39% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
119,541
−2.5% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 34 coffee shops and cafes in the Altoona metro area. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 6.7 for every 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Household spending on food away from home in the Altoona metro area comes to about $173.8M a year: $3,438 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That is about $5.1M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 38% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Altoona metro area in 2023. That is one for every 1,743 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. 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 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $100K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Altoona metro area.

Population estimates show the Altoona metro area declined 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Altoona metro area is 46 (lower middle), #222 of 387 scored metro areas and #15 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Altoona metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Altoona, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureAltoona metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.78.611.0
Spending per listing$5.1M$4.6M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,7431,8151,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+14.1%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,438$3,973$4,070
Median household income$62,382$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score4660

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
29All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
268
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
5All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
346 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
47The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$100K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
119,541−2.5% since 2020
Households
50,558
Median age
43.3
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
525 sq. mi.
People per square mile
231
Median household income
$62,382+26.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,561
Median home value
$161,100
Jobs located here
57,420
Daytime population
126,336Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Altoona 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 Altoona 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Altoona metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1York-Hanover, PA821266.9$5.8M+3.6%#7 of 387
2Chambersburg, PA79446.9$5.5M+3.0%#13 of 387
3Reading, PA771207.4$5.4M+2.7%#18 of 387
4Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ752627.7$5.3M+3.0%#26 of 387
5Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA752078.4$4.8M+4.2%#27 of 387
6Gettysburg, PA74245.9$6.8M+3.6%#28 of 387
7Lebanon, PA67457.9$4.9M+2.2%#60 of 387
8Williamsport, PA63286.0$5.8M−1.3%#87 of 387
9Johnstown, PA61254.5$7.4M−3.2%#102 of 387
10Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD602,3359.5$4.6M+1.4%#111 of 387
15Altoona, PA46346.7$5.1M−2.5%#222 of 387

Other business types in the Altoona 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 Altoona, PA metro area?

There are 34 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Altoona metro area as of September 2026. 6 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Official counts list 5 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Altoona, PA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $173.8M a year, or $3,438 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 34 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $5.1M per cafe. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes. It is estimated from the incomes of the 50,558 households in the Altoona metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Altoona metro area has 6.7 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $5.1M, 38% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Altoona metro area would have about 47, against 34 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,743 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Altoona, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Altoona metro area at 119,541 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 50,558 households. The median household income in the Altoona metro area is $62,382 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.8% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Altoona metro area scores 46 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #222 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 Altoona 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 Altoona metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Altoona 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 Altoona 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.