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Pierce County, WA — Coffee shops Saturation

How many coffee shops exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 67 ZIP codes analyzed.

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.

Measured density: Above average — 1.18× the U.S. rate (between 1.18× and 1.41× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 37 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 26 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Above the U.S. rate   Pierce County coffee shops — 118–141% of the U.S. rate

263 coffee shops are counted in Pierce County — 2.5 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 118% of the U.S. rate of 2.1.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 22% between 2015 and 2023 (202 → 247). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 98403 (Tacoma), 98328 (Eatonville), 98371 (Puyallup) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 98387 (Spanaway), 98374 (Puyallup), 98332 (Gig Harbor).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 305 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Pierce County sits at 118% of the U.S. rate for coffee shops. 26 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 118% and 141% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 98403 and 98328; the lowest measured density is in 98387 and 98374.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing coffee shops and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Coffee shops
263–337
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (37 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
2.5
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
2.1
per 10,000 present
County index
1.18×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
305
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
921,490
56 ZIPs with data
Workers
277,851
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
941,170
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+1.9%
+17,515 people
Net migration 2024
+6,214
international +5,263, domestic +951
Jobs located here
324,217
LODES 2022, +5.4% since 2019

Pierce County had an estimated 941,170 residents on July 1, 2024 — 1.9% more than in 2020 (+17,515). In the latest year it gained 9,452 people: births minus deaths +3,200, international migration +5,263, domestic migration +951. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

324,217 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+5.4% since 2019), and 399,240 employed residents lived there (+3.5% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
98402 Tacoma
+30.2%
98354 Milton
+19.1%
98374 Puyallup
+17.8%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change

No ZIP had a statistically significant decrease.

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses
43
no paid employees (2024)
Receipts
$1.6M
published gross receipts
Receipts per business
$36K
gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more coffee shops in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 22% since 2015

Number of coffee shops in Pierce County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

202
2015
199
2018
216
2020
225
2021
236
2022
247
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
98403 Tacoma
517%
98328 Eatonville
275%
98371 Puyallup
235%
98499 Lakewood
230%
98409 Tacoma
223%
98418 Tacoma
218%
98373 Puyallup
217%
98406 Tacoma
195%
98335 Gig Harbor
177%
98360 Orting
150%
98498 Lakewood
136%
98372 Puyallup
131%
98391 Bonney Lake
129%
98321 Buckley
125%
98407 Tacoma
121%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
98387 Spanaway
54%
98374 Puyallup
55%
98332 Gig Harbor
63%
98338 Graham
70%
98405 Tacoma
83%
98375 Puyallup
83%
98424 Fife
92%
98444 Tacoma
96%
98404 Tacoma
98%
98408 Tacoma
105%
98466 Tacoma
113%
98329 Gig Harbor
119%
98407 Tacoma
121%
98321 Buckley
125%
98391 Bonney Lake
129%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few coffee shops may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersCoffee shopsIndex
98402Tacoma Employment hub 8,08024,093 16 378%
98390Sumner Employment hub 11,54623,811 11 223%
98421Tacoma Destination 4249,060 0–2 —

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = coffee shops per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersCoffee shops Per 10kIndexStatus
98385South Prairie 457166 3 55.6 2642% Very high density
98403Tacoma 9,0972,037 11 10.9 517% Very high density
98402Tacoma 8,08024,093 16 7.9 378% Very high density
98328Eatonville 9,891976 6 5.8 275% Very high density
98371Puyallup 24,68211,458 15 4.9 235% High density
98499Lakewood 32,46417,707 20 4.8 230% High density
98390Sumner 11,54623,811 11 4.7 223% High density
98409Tacoma 27,84321,172 18 4.7 223% High density
98418Tacoma 10,2641,242 5 4.6 218% High density
98373Puyallup 28,88312,402 16 4.6 217% High density
98406Tacoma 24,2025,291 11 4.1 195% High density
98335Gig Harbor 27,7738,779 12 3.7 177% High density
98360Orting 15,0451,629 5 3.2 150% Above average
98498Lakewood 29,2094,620 9 2.9 136% Above average
98372Puyallup 26,01213,237 9 2.8 131% Above average
98391Bonney Lake 59,2406,862 17 2.7 129% Above average
98321Buckley 18,1501,741 5 2.6 125% Above average
98407Tacoma 21,7183,910 6 2.5 121% Above average
98329Gig Harbor 11,552777 3 2.5 119% Above average
98466Tacoma 30,3276,735 8 2.4 113% Above average
98408Tacoma 21,0093,379 5 2.2 105% Above average
98404Tacoma 35,9615,446 8 2.1 98% Below average
98444Tacoma 35,7547,745 8 2.0 96% Below average
98424Fife 11,81617,527 4 1.9 92% Below average
98375Puyallup 31,1876,057 6 1.8 83% Below average
98405Tacoma 25,93916,689 6 1.8 83% Below average
98338Graham 32,6872,451 5 1.5 70% Below average
98332Gig Harbor 20,0725,423 3 1.3 63% Below average
98374Puyallup 49,0076,630 6 1.1 55% Below average
98387Spanaway 50,7744,002 6 1.1 54% Below average
98303Anderson Island 1,448108 0–2 — — Not published
98304Ashford 770226 0–2 — — Not published
98323Carbonado 76792 0–2 — — Not published
98327Dupont 9,9314,101 0–2 — — Not published
98330Elbe 6184 0–2 — — Not published
98333Fox Island 3,414217 0–2 — — Not published
98349Lakebay 4,931378 0–2 — — Not published
98351Longbranch 1,891115 0–2 — — Not published
98352Sumner —723 0–2 — — Not published
98354Milton 8,5971,999 0–2 — — Not published
98388Steilacoom 7,043215 0–2 — — Not published
98394Vaughn 892115 0–2 — — Not published
98395Wauna —18 0–2 — — Not published
98396Wilkeson 84416 0–2 — — Not published
98401Tacoma —640 0–2 — — Not published
98411Tacoma —228 0–2 — — Not published
98417Tacoma —32 0–2 — — Not published
98419Tacoma —8 0–2 — — Not published
98421Tacoma 4249,060 0–2 — — Not published
98422Tacoma 21,6441,990 0–2 — — Not published
98430Camp Murray 5829 0–2 — — Not published
98431Tacoma —3,071 0–2 — — Not published
98433Tacoma 22,4931,248 0–2 — — Not published
98438Mcchord Afb 613166 0–2 — — Not published
98439Lakewood 5,671568 0–2 — — Not published
98443Tacoma 5,558788 0–2 — — Not published
98445Tacoma 33,6843,292 0–2 — — Not published
98446Tacoma 14,6343,428 0–2 — — Not published
98447Tacoma 9211,682 0–2 — — Not published
98448Tacoma —17 0–2 — — Not published
98464Tacoma —92 0–2 — — Not published
98465Tacoma 7,1781,327 0–2 — — Not published
98467University Place 15,3871,965 0–2 — — Not published
98493Tacoma —6 0–2 — — Not published
98496Lakewood —160 0–2 — — Not published
98558Mckenna 6197 0–2 — — Not published
98580Roy 11,410571 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Tacoma

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Tacoma retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Tacoma retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Tacoma retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Pierce County and coffee shops

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 722515 — snack & non-alcoholic beverage bars (incl. coffee shops). Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. BLS QCEW (quarterly) is newer than ZBP — 2026 Q1 shows 305 establishments county-wide for this industry. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (2.10 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

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.