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Coffee shops in North Carolina

How many coffee shops exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 23 North Carolina counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Coffee shops · Espresso bars · Boba / bubble tea shops · Juice & smoothie bars · Ice cream & frozen yogurt shops. Counted together because official statistics use one 722515 code.

State verdict (covered counties): Below the U.S. rate — 87% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in North Carolina

Coffee shops

1,613

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

1.8

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

2.1

per 10,000 present

State index

87%

vs. U.S.

Residents

7,284,936

in covered counties

Workers

3,028,827

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 23 North Carolina counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing coffee shops and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in North Carolina

City	County	Coffee shops	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Wilmington	New Hanover County	110–120	237,060	118,886	3.7	176–180%	High density
Asheville	Buncombe County	122–146	269,596	125,376	3.7	175–186%	High density
Leland	Brunswick County	44–54	151,179	32,781	2.6	125–148%	Above average
Hickory	Catawba County	50–60	172,263	85,017	2.3	111–128%	Above average
Concord	Cabarrus County	58–66	236,047	74,847	2.1	101–108%	Above average
Jacksonville	Onslow County	47–59	204,246	41,476	2.1	99–116%	Range spans bands
Charlotte	Mecklenburg County	312–402	1,173,019	704,489	2.0	97–100%	Range spans bands
Morrisville	Wake County	305–353	1,254,117	563,740	2.0	94–98%	Below average
Monroe	Union County	51–59	250,703	61,424	1.8	86–96%	Below average
Chapel Hill	Orange County	32–42	159,674	52,230	1.7	82–97%	Below average
Durham	Durham County	67–89	327,804	174,233	1.6	77–86%	Below average
Fayetteville	Cumberland County	64–84	348,651	97,067	1.6	77–96%	Below average
Greensboro	Guilford County	109–163	577,982	264,336	1.5	73–92%	Below average
Burlington	Alamance County	33–49	187,008	63,483	1.5	72–98%	Below average
Mooresville	Iredell County	33–51	192,680	79,784	1.4	67–84%	Below average
Clayton	Johnston County	29–43	189,124	42,187	1.4	66–88%	Below average
Winston Salem	Forsyth County	67–107	416,830	178,036	1.3	63–82%	Below average
Greenville	Pitt County	28–54	180,210	62,893	1.3	63–103%	Range spans bands
Salisbury	Rowan County	15–39	133,355	45,889	1.0	46–113%	Range spans bands
Gastonia	Gaston County	18–42	238,761	70,983	0.7	31–66%	Range spans bands
Thomasville	Davidson County	10–24	142,181	36,165	0.6	30–53%	Well below average
Asheboro	Randolph County	5–27	127,973	30,351	0.3	17–76%	Range spans bands
Dunn	Harnett County	4–22	114,473	23,154	0.3	15–75%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

176%

175%

125%

111%

101%

99%

97%

94%

Most competitors per capita

15%

17%

30%

31%

46%

63%

63%

66%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few coffee shops may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.