The top 10 U.S. cities to sell coffee

A foodservice operator looking to open a coffee concept would face the smallest amount of competition in Laredo, Texas, but sales prospects might be better in the city that never sleeps, New York, according to a new list of the nation’s top java markets.

The ranking gives the honor of top market not to Seattle, the home of Starbucks and a celebrated coffee culture, but the Big Apple. New York sports more coffee outlets per capita than any other city in the nation, a measure by which Seattle ranked only fourth.

Top 10 U.S. coffee cities

Source: WalletHub

New York City also captured the highest affordability rating for high-quality coffee shops and cafes (high quality was defined by the study as those earning customer ratings of at least 4.5 stars). In that competition, it edged out San Francisco and Boise, Idaho.

Gotham also dodged the dubious distinction of being among the five cities with the highest prices for a cappuccino. Topping that list was Santa Ana, Calif., followed by Honolulu; Nashville; Mesa, Ariz.; and Birmingham, Ala.

Perhaps not coincidentally, New York City also sports more doughnut shops per capita, the study found.

While the East Coast mecca may be the No. 1 coffee market overall, the proportion of its population that frequent the likes of Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts is smaller than several cities on the West Coast. California is home to three of the five markets with the highest percentage of adult coffee drinkers: Santa Ana (No. 1), Anaheim (No. 2) and Los Angeles (No. 5).

Related:8 ways FSDs can boost coffee sales

The cities with the lowest percentage of adult coffee drinkers were Detroit; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Toledo, Ohio; and Cleveland.

“2018’s Best Coffee Cities in America” was produced by WalletHub, a personal-finance service that computes and reports credit scores and credit reports. 

Photograph: Shutterstock