Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Pennsylvania

Coffee shops and cafes in Lancaster County, PA

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in Lancaster County, PA, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #735 of 2,063 scored counties
#35 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
220
69 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
117
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +23.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$880.2M
On food away from home · $4,137 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.3
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
563,159
+1.9% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in Lancaster County

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 Lancaster County. 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

At $4,137 per household (2% above the U.S. average), households in Lancaster County spend about $880.2M a year on food away from home. Spread across 220 coffee shops and cafes, that is $4M per cafe, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

Lancaster County has 220 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 31% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That is 10.3 per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 117 businesses with payroll in Lancaster County classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, up 23.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,818 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 list 37 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $300K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Lancaster County.

Population estimates put the population change in Lancaster County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Lancaster County scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #735 of 2,063 scored counties and #35 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania.

How Lancaster County 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 Lancaster County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureLancaster CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.38.611.0
Spending per listing$4M$4.6M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,8181,8151,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+23.2%+14.1%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.9%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,137$3,973$4,070
Median household income$86,959$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5760

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
95 → 117All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +23.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,505
Annual payroll, 2023
$25M
One-person businesses, 2023
37All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
22069 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
238The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$300K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in Lancaster County, 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 Lancaster County

Population, 2025 estimate
563,159+1.9% since 2020
Households
212,748
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
944 sq. mi.
People per square mile
591
Median household income
$86,959+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,346
Median home value
$301,100
Jobs located here
258,003
Daytime population
553,680Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lancaster County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Lancaster County. 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 counties in Pennsylvania for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Lancaster County marked.

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Perry County, PA79116.0$6.4M+2.1%#116 of 2,063
2York County, PA791266.9$5.8M+3.6%#119 of 2,063
3Franklin County, PA77446.9$5.5M+3.0%#158 of 2,063
4Pike County, PA77208.2$4.8M+7.2%#165 of 2,063
5Schuylkill County, PA74203.4$10.2M+1.5%#194 of 2,063
6Lehigh County, PA74926.4$6.4M+2.7%#204 of 2,063
7Chester County, PA741899.2$5.6M+4.2%#205 of 2,063
8Cumberland County, PA74918.6$4.9M+6.5%#214 of 2,063
9Adams County, PA73245.9$6.8M+3.6%#226 of 2,063
10Berks County, PA731207.4$5.4M+2.7%#238 of 2,063
35Lancaster County, PA5722010.3$4M+1.9%#735 of 2,063

Other business types in Lancaster County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in Lancaster County, PA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 220 coffee shops and cafes in Lancaster County. 69 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 117 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 23.2% 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. Official counts also show 37 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Lancaster County, PA spend on food away from home?

About $880.2M a year, or $4,137 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 220 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4M 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 212,748 households in Lancaster County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lancaster County, PA compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

Lancaster County has 10.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, Lancaster County would have about 238, against 220 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,818 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.

How fast is Lancaster County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Lancaster County at 563,159 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 212,748 households. Median household income in Lancaster County is $86,959, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.6%, 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. Lancaster County scores 57 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #735 of 2,063 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lancaster County. 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 Lancaster County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lancaster County?

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 Lancaster County. 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.