Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · South Dakota

Coffee shops and cafes in the Brookings, SD area

How the Brookings, SD area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #226 of 529 scored small-town markets
#5 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota

Listings
24
12 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
6
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$51.8M
On food away from home · $3,756 a household
Spending per listing
$2.2M
42% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.4
58% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
37,635
+9.6% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Brookings 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 Brookings 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 $3,756 per household (8% below the U.S. average), households in the Brookings area spend about $51.8M a year on food away from home. Spread across 24 coffee shops and cafes, that is $2.2M per cafe, 42% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The Brookings area has 24 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 12 are chain locations, or 50%, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.4, 58% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Brookings area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 2,300 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. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $954K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Brookings area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brookings area grew 9.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Brookings area is 54 (upper middle), #226 of 529 scored small-town markets and #5 of 9 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota.

How the Brookings area compares

The same measures for South Dakota 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 Brookings, SD area compared with South Dakota and the U.S.
MeasureBrookings areaSouth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.412.611.0
Spending per listing$2.2M$3.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,3001,3791,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+44.8%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.6%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,756$3,849$4,070
Median household income$70,064$75,081$80,734
Groundwork market score5442

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
127
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$954K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
37,635+9.6% since 2020
Households
13,798
Median age
31.9
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
792 sq. mi.
People per square mile
45
Median household income
$70,064+20.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,400
Median home value
$264,600
Jobs located here
19,000
Daytime population
37,385Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Brookings 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.

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Coffee shops and cafes across South Dakota

Every South Dakota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with the Brookings area marked.

Top small-town markets in South Dakota

Small-town markets in South Dakota ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Aberdeen, SD64137.3$5.2M−1.5%#108 of 529
2Pierre, SD63910.5$3.8M−0.5%#125 of 529
3Watertown, SD62108.0$4.6M+4.3%#135 of 529
4Yankton, SD571010.3$3.6M+1.5%#196 of 529
5Brookings, SD542417.4$2.2M+9.6%#226 of 529
6Huron, SD411013.3$2.7M+2.4%#364 of 529
7Spearfish, SD392218.3$2M+14.0%#388 of 529
8Mitchell, SD321513.7$2.6M+0.6%#455 of 529
9Vermillion, SD311119.8$1.7M+0.2%#465 of 529

Other business types in the Brookings area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Brookings, SD area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 24 coffee shops and cafes in the Brookings area. 12 of them (50%) 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 Brookings, SD area spend on food away from home?

About $51.8M a year, or $3,756 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $2.2M 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 13,798 households in the Brookings area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Brookings, SD area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Brookings area has 17.4 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $2.2M, 42% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Brookings area would have about 14, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,300 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Brookings, SD area growing?

Population estimates put the Brookings area at 37,635 people in 2025, up 9.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,798 households. Median household income in the Brookings area is $70,064, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.5%, 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 Brookings area scores 54 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #226 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 Brookings 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 Brookings area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brookings area?

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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.