Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Coffee shops and cafes in the Erie, PA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in the Erie, PA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #201 of 387 scored metro areas
#14 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
81
27 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
57
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +18.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$387.9M
On food away from home · $3,507 a household
Spending per listing
$4.8M
29% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.3
34% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
265,832
−1.8% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Erie 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 Erie 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 81 coffee shops and cafes in the Erie metro area. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 7.3 per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

At $3,507 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Erie metro area spend about $387.9M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.8M per cafe, 29% 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 57 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Erie metro area in 2023, up 18.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,940 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. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Erie metro area declined 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Erie metro area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #201 of 387 scored metro areas and #14 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Erie 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 Erie, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureErie metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.38.611.0
Spending per listing$4.8M$4.6M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,9401,8151,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+18.8%+14.1%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.8%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,507$3,973$4,070
Median household income$63,354$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score4960

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
57All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +18.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
408
Annual payroll, 2023
$9M
One-person businesses, 2023
11All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8127 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
105The 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 Erie 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 Erie metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
265,832−1.8% since 2020
Households
110,587
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
799 sq. mi.
People per square mile
337
Median household income
$63,354+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,573
Median home value
$177,000
Jobs located here
120,819
Daytime population
270,477Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Erie 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 Erie 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 Erie 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
14Erie, PA49817.3$4.8M−1.8%#201 of 387

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

There are 81 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Erie metro area as of September 2026. 27 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 18.8% from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $387.9M a year, or $3,507 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 81 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.8M 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 110,587 households in the Erie metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Erie metro area has 7.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.8M, 29% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Erie metro area would have about 105, against 81 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,940 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 18.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is the Erie, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Erie metro area at 265,832 people in 2025, down 1.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 110,587 households. The median household income in the Erie metro area is $63,354 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.0% 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 Erie metro area scores 49 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #201 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 Erie 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 Erie metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Erie 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 Erie 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.