WA is a coffee hot spot, but one state has more coffee shops per capita. Here’s where

Washington might be known for its coffee, but according to a new study, the home state of Starbucks isn’t the most coffee-obsessed state in the U.S.

Coffee review site Cafelista analyzed online map data to find which states had the most coffee shops per capita. While Washington cracked the top five, it was beaten by a surprising state for the top spot.

WA is second-most coffee-obsessed state

With over 4,000 coffee shops statewide, Washington has 57.3 coffee shops per 100,000 residents, over twice as many as the national median of 27.3. That includes over 700 Starbucks locations, making it the most common coffee chain in the state.

Yet, all of that is only enough to put Washington in the second-highest spot for number of coffee shops per capita rate of any state, beating neighboring Oregon by 2.9 shops per 100,000 people. The only state with a higher concentration of coffee shops than Washington? That would be Alaska, with 73.5 coffee shops per 100,000 residents.

Montana and Wyoming took fourth and fifth place, respectively, giving the top five a distinctly northwestern feel.

On the other side of the list, Hawai’i had by far the fewest coffee shops per 100,000 people at 10.3, followed by Mississippi and Kentucky.

WA has 8th-most expensive coffee

The study also ranked states by the average cost of a cappuccino. Washington came in eighth place, with an average price of $5.48, nearly $0.60 higher than the national median. Washington’s average cappuccino costs two cents more than ninth place California’s and two cents less than seventh place Pennsylvania’s, according to the study.

Oklahoma had the most expensive coffee in the country, at $6.42 for a cappuccino, followed by Hawai’i and Massachusetts. West Virginia and Georgia, meanwhile, have the cheapest coffee in the country, according to the study.

This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 9:21 AM.