Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Pennsylvania

Coffee shops and cafes in the St. Marys, PA area

The coffee shops and cafes in the St. Marys, PA 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 #164 of 529 scored small-town markets
#9 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania

Listings
5
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
6
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$45.2M
On food away from home · $3,390 a household
Spending per listing
$9M
2.4 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.8
65% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,926
−3.3% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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

At $3,390 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in the St. Marys area spend about $45.2M a year on food away from home. That works out to $9M per cafe, 2.4 times the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The St. Marys area has 5 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.8, 65% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the St. Marys area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 2,221 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.

Population estimates show the St. Marys area declined 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the St. Marys area is 59 (upper middle), #164 of 529 scored small-town markets and #9 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania.

How the St. Marys 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 St. Marys, PA area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Marys areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.88.611.0
Spending per listing$9M$4.6M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,2211,8151,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+14.1%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,390$3,973$4,070
Median household income$66,380$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5960

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
87
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
50 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area

Population, 2025 estimate
29,926−3.3% since 2020
Households
13,325
Median age
47.8
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
827 sq. mi.
People per square mile
37
Median household income
$66,380+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,773
Median home value
$133,600
Jobs located here
12,876
Daytime population
29,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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 small-town markets in Pennsylvania for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the St. Marys area marked.

Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania

Small-town markets in Pennsylvania ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hemlock Farms, PA81208.2$4.8M+7.2%#8 of 529
2Pottsville, PA79203.4$10.2M+1.5%#11 of 529
3Lock Haven, PA7774.5$7.5M+1.3%#16 of 529
4Sunbury, PA65327.0$5M−1.7%#102 of 529
5Sayre, PA64176.9$5.1M−0.6%#109 of 529
6Huntingdon, PA6395.5$6.3M−2.4%#118 of 529
7Oil City, PA62115.1$6.4M−2.0%#131 of 529
8Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA61186.8$5M+2.3%#147 of 529
9St. Marys, PA5953.8$9M−3.3%#164 of 529
10Lewistown, PA58105.4$6.1M0.0%#177 of 529

Other business types in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys, PA area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 coffee shops and cafes in the St. Marys area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 6 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 St. Marys, PA area spend on food away from home?

About $45.2M a year, or $3,390 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $9M 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 13,325 households in the St. Marys area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The St. Marys area has 3.8 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 65% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $9M, 2.4 times the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the St. Marys area would have about 12, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,221 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the St. Marys, PA area growing?

Population estimates put the St. Marys area at 29,926 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,325 households. Median household income in the St. Marys area is $66,380, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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 St. Marys area scores 59 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #164 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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.