Food and drink · Metro area · South Carolina
Coffee shops and cafes in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area
How the Charleston-North Charleston, SC 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 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #74 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 375
- 144 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 158
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +8.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On food away from home · $4,104 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.2
- 2% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 889,263
- +10.7% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 375 coffee shops and cafes in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. 144 of them (38%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 11.2 for every 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
Households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area spend about $1.4B a year on food away from home, or $4,104 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $3.7M per cafe, in line with 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area was 158 in 2023, up 8.2% from 2019. That is one for every 2,126 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 42 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $2.7M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area grew 10.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes, ranking #74 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Charleston-North Charleston metro area compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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.
| Measure | Charleston-North Charleston metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.2 | 8.4 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $4.4M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 2,126 | 2,612 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.2% | +28.1% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.7% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,104 | $3,660 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $85,254 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 75 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 158All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars · +8.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,951
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $38.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 42All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 375144 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 372The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $2.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 889,263+10.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,865
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 2,590 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 322
- Median household income
- $85,254+33.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $118,282
- Median home value
- $377,500
- Jobs located here
- 390,960
- Daytime population
- 849,978Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardCoffee shops and cafes across South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charleston-North Charleston metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 76 | 156 | 6.7 | $5.4M | +4.7% | #21 of 387 |
| 1Columbia, SC | 76 | 248 | 7.3 | $5M | +6.0% | #22 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 74 | 937 | 8.7 | $4.7M | +10.1% | #30 of 387 |
| 2Spartanburg, SC | 71 | 109 | 7.6 | $4.5M | +14.3% | #37 of 387 |
| 3Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 66 | 101 | 10.6 | $3.9M | +12.0% | #73 of 387 |
| 4Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 66 | 375 | 11.2 | $3.7M | +10.7% | #74 of 387 |
| 5Sumter, SC | 63 | 20 | 4.9 | $6.7M | −0.3% | #86 of 387 |
| 6Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 61 | 378 | 9.8 | $3.8M | +9.0% | #107 of 387 |
| 7Florence, SC | 57 | 55 | 7.0 | $4.7M | +0.9% | #133 of 387 |
| 8Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 39 | 185 | 11.7 | $3M | +20.9% | #288 of 387 |
Other business types in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes46
- Sit-down restaurants42
- Fast food and sandwich shops69
- Pizza71
- Coffee shops and cafes66
- Bakeries and dessert shops64
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?
There are 375 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area as of September 2026. 144 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 158 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023, up 8.2% from 2019. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Official counts list 42 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area spend on food away from home?
About $1.4B a year, or $4,104 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 375 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 335,865 households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 11.2 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.7M, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 372, against 375 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,126 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.3% for the U.S.
How fast is the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Charleston-North Charleston metro area at 889,263 people in 2025, up 10.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,865 households. The median household income in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area is $85,254 a year, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.9% 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 66 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #74 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 Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston-North Charleston 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 Charleston-North Charleston 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.