Best Coffee Cities in America

Adam McCann, Financial WriterSep 23, 2020

Adam McCann, Financial Writer
Sep 23, 2020

Coffee first became popular in the U.S. after the Boston Tea Party, when the switch was seen as “patriotic,” according to PBS. And since Starbucks debuted in 1971, the drink is now accessible almost anywhere you go. A recent survey by the National Coffee Association found that 62 percent of Americans drink coffee every day, with the average coffee drinker consuming 3 cups daily.

What gave way to java culture? Science, for one, has convinced us that caffeine possesses multiple health benefits besides mental stimulation. At the right dosages, caffeine may contribute to longevity. Perhaps just as important, though, is coffee’s social purpose. Today, coffee stations are a staple of the workplace, and tens of thousands of shops serve as meeting places for friends, dates and coworkers – though in 2020 many have had to provide take-out service only due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some local coffee scenes are stronger than others. To determine the best among them, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 12 key indicators of coffee lover-friendliness. Our data set ranges from coffee shops, coffee houses and cafés per capita to the average price per pack of coffee. In addition, we compiled a list of top coffee retailers extending special savings in honor of National Coffee Day on Sept. 29. Read on for the winners, coffee-lover insight and a full description of our methodology.

Table of Contents

Main Findings Ask the Experts Methodology

Main Findings

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Best Coffee Cities in America

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	City	Total Score	Overall Rank (1 = Best)	City	Total Score
1	Seattle, WA	73.68	51	Madison, WI	41.75
2	San Francisco, CA	71.34	52	Indianapolis, IN	41.61
3	Portland, OR	67.55	53	Albuquerque, NM	41.58
4	Miami, FL	66.51	54	Riverside, CA	41.34
5	Tampa, FL	62.72	55	Nashville, TN	41.19
6	Pittsburgh, PA	61.95	56	San Antonio, TX	40.98
7	Honolulu, HI	61.79	57	Buffalo, NY	40.89
8	Denver, CO	61.32	58	Aurora, CO	40.74
9	Oakland, CA	59.99	59	Anchorage, AK	40.57
10	Atlanta, GA	59.85	60	Lincoln, NE	40.34
11	Minneapolis, MN	59.59	61	Omaha, NE	40.26
12	Orlando, FL	59.54	62	Tulsa, OK	39.89
13	Washington, DC	59.40	63	Oklahoma City, OK	39.82
14	Boston, MA	59.10	64	Tucson, AZ	39.76
15	Long Beach, CA	58.37	65	Jacksonville, FL	39.57
16	Los Angeles, CA	58.08	66	Reno, NV	39.38
17	Irvine, CA	56.85	67	Kansas City, MO	39.38
18	New Orleans, LA	56.00	68	Norfolk, VA	39.30
19	Austin, TX	55.82	69	Bakersfield, CA	39.11
20	Jersey City, NJ	55.54	70	Phoenix, AZ	38.61
21	Plano, TX	54.94	71	Garland, TX	38.34
22	San Diego, CA	54.84	72	Chula Vista, CA	38.16
23	San Jose, CA	54.13	73	Gilbert, AZ	38.14
24	Philadelphia, PA	53.08	74	Durham, NC	37.34
25	Chicago, IL	52.92	75	Louisville, KY	36.20
26	Las Vegas, NV	52.77	76	El Paso, TX	36.10
27	New York, NY	51.85	77	Cleveland, OH	35.99
28	Dallas, TX	51.82	78	Mesa, AZ	35.45
29	Scottsdale, AZ	51.50	79	Columbus, OH	35.32
30	Anaheim, CA	49.24	80	Fort Wayne, IN	34.99
31	Sacramento, CA	49.06	81	Wichita, KS	34.98
32	Fremont, CA	48.70	82	Chesapeake, VA	34.85
33	Cincinnati, OH	48.49	83	Lexington-Fayette, KY	34.52
34	Raleigh, NC	48.21	84	North Las Vegas, NV	33.38
35	Irving, TX	46.44	85	Baton Rouge, LA	32.53
36	Newark, NJ	46.39	86	Fresno, CA	32.15
37	Boise, ID	45.52	87	Milwaukee, WI	32.08
38	Houston, TX	45.39	88	Henderson, NV	31.81
39	St. Louis, MO	45.13	89	Birmingham, AL	31.80
40	Santa Ana, CA	45.05	90	Glendale, AZ	31.77
41	St. Paul, MN	44.55	91	Winston-Salem, NC	31.10
42	St. Petersburg, FL	43.97	92	Lubbock, TX	31.02
43	Charlotte, NC	43.70	93	Corpus Christi, TX	30.27
44	Fort Worth, TX	43.38	94	Stockton, CA	30.16
44	Hialeah, FL	43.38	95	San Bernardino, CA	29.49
46	Virginia Beach, VA	43.28	96	Detroit, MI	26.10
47	Chandler, AZ	42.93	97	Memphis, TN	25.91
48	Baltimore, MD	42.54	98	Greensboro, NC	24.44
49	Arlington, TX	42.49	99	Laredo, TX	20.27
50	Colorado Springs, CO	42.47	100	Toledo, OH	18.93

Ask the Experts

The Specialty Coffee Association of America values the U.S. coffee market at $48 billion. Not only does that indicate how much Americans are willing to spend on the beverage, but it also signals business potential to aspiring entrepreneurs. For more insight on the coffee industry and consumption, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

What tips do you have for a person who wishes to enjoy their daily java cup while on a budget?
Why are some people willing to spend two or three times more for a comparable cup of coffee?
In the current economic environment, is opening a coffee shop as a first business for young entrepreneurs still a good idea, or are most markets already oversaturated?
In the past months, a great number of coffee shops across the country shifted towards contact-free business, with pick-up and delivery options. What are the prospects of coffee shops as states reopen?

Ask the Experts

: Anne S. York
Ph.D. – Founding Faculty Director, DBA Program, Associate Professor Emerita, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Creighton University
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: Pradip Shukla
Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Management, Chapman University
Read More

: Jeff Pollack
Associate Professor, University Faculty Scholar - Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Department – North Carolina State University, Poole College of Management
Read More

: Sheri Lokken Worthy
Ph.D. – Samuel A. and Sharon Y. Nickols Professor and Department Head, Department of Financial Planning, Housing & Consumer Economics – University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Read More

: Jason Greenberg
Visiting Assistant Professor of Management – University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business
Read More

: Johannes Moenius
Ph.D. – The William R. and S. Sue Johnson Endowed Chair of Spatial Economic Analysis and Regional Planning Professor; Director, Institute for Spatial Economic Analysis – University of Redlands
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

To determine the best cities for coffee lovers, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated U.S. cities across 12 key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric also was graded on a 100-point scale.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. A total score of 100 represents the most favorable conditions for coffee lovers.

In collecting our sample, please note that we considered only the “city proper” in each case and excluded the cities in the surrounding metro area. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

- Average Price per Pack of Coffee: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
- Average Price of a Cappuccino: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
- Average Spending on Coffee per Household: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
- Share of Adult Coffee Drinkers: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of adults who reported drinking “ready-to-drink” coffee in the past six months. “Ready-to-drink” includes already prepared coffee found in the cold section of grocery stores.
- Share of Households that Own Coffee Makers: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  Note: This metric includes households that own electric coffee grinders, coffee makers (single-cup/pod-brewing) and/or espresso/cappuccino makers.
- Affordable Coffee Shops, Coffee Houses & Cafés Rated 4.5+ Stars per Capita*: Double Weight (~14.29 Points)
- Coffee Shops, Coffee Houses & Cafés per Capita*: Double Weight (~14.29 Points)
- Coffee & Tea Manufacturers per Capita*: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
- Coffee Shops with Free Wi-Fi per Capita*: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
- Donut Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
- Google Search Traffic for the Term “Coffee”: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)
  Note: Search traffic was measured as a share of the national average.
- “Coffee Lovers” Meetups per Capita*: Full Weight (~7.14 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this report were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Numbeo, Google Trends, Yelp, Esri's Updated Demographics (2020 estimates), GfK MRI and Meetup.

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