Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Wisconsin

Coffee shops and cafes in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for coffee shops and cafes in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #94 of 529 scored small-town markets
#5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin

Listings
30
3 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
16
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$139M
On food away from home · $3,986 a household
Spending per listing
$4.6M
25% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.6
22% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
86,505
+0.3% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 30 coffee shops and cafes in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area. Chain locations make up 10% of them, against 39% across the U.S. That comes to 8.6 for every 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

Household spending on food away from home in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area comes to about $139M a year: $3,986 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.6M of household spending for each cafe on map listings, 25% 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 16 businesses with payroll in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 2,180 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $29K has gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area is 66 (upper middle), #94 of 529 scored small-town markets and #5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureWatertown-Fort Atkinson areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.69.711.0
Spending per listing$4.6M$4.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)2,1801,9951,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+36.4%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.3%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,986$3,959$4,070
Median household income$83,750$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score6659

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
16All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
176
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
303 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
38The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$29K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
86,505+0.3% since 2020
Households
34,873
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
557 sq. mi.
People per square mile
155
Median household income
$83,750+26.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,082
Median home value
$274,100
Jobs located here
34,853
Daytime population
76,557Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Wisconsin for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Wisconsin (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area marked.

Top small-town markets in Wisconsin

Small-town markets in Wisconsin ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Beaver Dam, WI77226.1$6.2M−0.3%#17 of 529
2Sparta, WI7484.4$8.4M+0.6%#29 of 529
3Manitowoc, WI71267.4$4.9M+0.4%#54 of 529
4Marinette, WI-MI66217.1$4.8M+0.3%#92 of 529
5Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI66308.6$4.6M+0.3%#94 of 529
6Stevens Point-Plover, WI603511.8$3.3M+2.2%#163 of 529
Iron Mountain, MI-WI5996.4$5.4M+0.4%#170 of 529
7Menomonie, WI571910.9$3.5M+1.7%#197 of 529
8Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI56216.5$5.5M−0.2%#203 of 529
9Shawano, WI55179.1$3.9M+1.4%#216 of 529

Other business types in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area?

The Watertown-Fort Atkinson area has 30 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes.

How much do households in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area spend on food away from home?

About $139M a year, or $3,986 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.6M 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 34,873 households in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The Watertown-Fort Atkinson area has 8.6 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.6M, 25% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area would have about 38, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,180 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI area growing?

Population estimates put the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area at 86,505 people in 2025, up 0.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 34,873 households. The median household income in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson area is $83,750 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.3% 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. 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson area scores 66 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #94 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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 Watertown-Fort Atkinson 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.