Breakfast cafe statistics are best interpreted alongside broader restaurant-spending measures. The 2024 figures below show per-capita food-away-from-home sales for every U.S. state and the District of Columbia. They do not isolate breakfast, cafes, coffee, bakeries, or individual transactions, but they provide a consistent geographic comparison for understanding the market context in which breakfast cafes operate.
Table of contents
- What these breakfast cafe statistics measure
- Highest per-capita sales
- Lowest per-capita sales
- State-by-state comparison
- Regional patterns
- How to use the figures
What these breakfast cafe statistics measure
The measure is per-capita food-away-from-home sales in 2024, reported in dollars. “Food away from home” is a wider category than breakfast cafes: it can include many kinds of restaurants and prepared-food businesses. Accordingly, the figures should be treated as a broad spending indicator rather than a direct estimate of breakfast cafe revenue, customer counts, average checks, or market size.
Every value in this article comes from the ERS state-fafh-sales.xlsx source label supplied for the 2024 estimates. The source label describes the measure as state-level food-away-from-home sales; it does not identify a breakfast-cafe-only series. Geography is explicit throughout: each number refers to the named state or the District of Columbia, and the measurement year is 2024.
The dataset contains 51 geographic entries. The District of Columbia is included with the states for comparison, although it is a district rather than a state. Because the figures are already expressed per person, they are more useful for comparing spending intensity across geographies than for estimating total sales without separate population data.
Highest per-capita sales
The District of Columbia had the highest reported 2024 per-capita food-away-from-home sales at $11,363.93. Among states, Hawaii led at $7,131.07, followed by Nevada at $7,007.21. California reported $5,504.33, while Massachusetts recorded $5,054.45 and New York $4,928.36.
These figures are descriptive comparisons, not explanations of why one market is higher than another. A high per-capita total may reflect many factors that are not separated in the supplied measure, including the composition of the local food-service economy, visitor-related spending, and the mix of businesses represented in the category. The data does not quantify any of those possible influences.
The five highest entries in the supplied 2024 series were:
| Geography | Per-capita food-away-from-home sales |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $11,363.93 |
| Hawaii | $7,131.07 |
| Nevada | $7,007.21 |
| California | $5,504.33 |
| Massachusetts | $5,054.45 |
The gap between the District of Columbia and Hawaii is substantial in the reported series: the district’s figure is above $11,000 per person, while Hawaii’s is just above $7,000. That comparison should not be turned into a breakfast-only conclusion, because the source category is broader than breakfast cafes.
Lowest per-capita sales
West Virginia had the lowest reported 2024 figure at $2,884.82 per person. Iowa followed at $3,077.52, Wisconsin at $3,098.56, Idaho at $3,152.87, and North Dakota at $3,262.36.
The next group included Arkansas at $3,311.37, Michigan at $3,347.23, Kansas at $3,364.64, Pennsylvania at $3,417.36, and Alabama at $3,405.37. These values describe the reported food-away-from-home sales measure for each geography in 2024; they do not establish that breakfast cafes themselves had lower sales in those locations.
The five lowest entries were:
| Geography | Per-capita food-away-from-home sales |
|---|---|
| West Virginia | $2,884.82 |
| Iowa | $3,077.52 |
| Wisconsin | $3,098.56 |
| Idaho | $3,152.87 |
| North Dakota | $3,262.36 |
The difference between the highest and lowest reported entries is a comparison within this series, not a forecast of opportunity. It indicates that the measured per-capita totals vary considerably across the 51 geographies, while leaving the reasons for that variation outside the scope of the supplied data.
State-by-state comparison
The complete 2024 comparison is below. Values are dollars per person and retain the source’s state-level geography.
| Geography | 2024 per-capita sales | Geography | 2024 per-capita sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $3,405.37 | Alaska | $4,002.50 |
| Arizona | $4,005.70 | Arkansas | $3,311.37 |
| California | $5,504.33 | Colorado | $4,773.31 |
| Connecticut | $4,065.68 | Delaware | $4,086.88 |
| District of Columbia | $11,363.93 | Florida | $4,526.46 |
| Georgia | $4,083.31 | Hawaii | $7,131.07 |
| Idaho | $3,152.87 | Illinois | $4,231.48 |
| Indiana | $3,613.60 | Iowa | $3,077.52 |
| Kansas | $3,364.64 | Kentucky | $3,610.46 |
| Louisiana | $3,900.12 | Maine | $3,931.06 |
| Maryland | $3,718.10 | Massachusetts | $5,054.45 |
| Michigan | $3,347.23 | Minnesota | $3,631.69 |
| Mississippi | $3,465.18 | Missouri | $3,671.37 |
| Montana | $3,765.59 | Nebraska | $3,604.92 |
| Nevada | $7,007.21 | New Hampshire | $4,396.20 |
| New Jersey | $4,138.86 | New Mexico | $3,959.40 |
| New York | $4,928.36 | North Carolina | $3,884.78 |
| North Dakota | $3,262.36 | Ohio | $3,598.43 |
| Oklahoma | $3,494.86 | Oregon | $4,058.51 |
| Pennsylvania | $3,417.36 | Rhode Island | $4,561.16 |
| South Carolina | $4,178.66 | South Dakota | $3,434.14 |
| Tennessee | $4,202.02 | Texas | $4,375.21 |
| Utah | $3,691.47 | Vermont | $3,516.69 |
| Virginia | $3,857.04 | Washington | $4,387.77 |
| West Virginia | $2,884.82 | Wisconsin | $3,098.56 |
| Wyoming | $4,101.87 |
Regional patterns
The supplied values show several broad groupings, although the series does not provide regional averages. Western states include both some of the highest and more middle-range observations: Hawaii reported $7,131.07, Nevada $7,007.21, California $5,504.33, Colorado $4,773.31, and Washington $4,387.77. By comparison, Idaho reported $3,152.87, Utah $3,691.47, Montana $3,765.59, and Wyoming $4,101.87.
Northeastern entries also span a wide range. Massachusetts recorded $5,054.45, New York $4,928.36, Rhode Island $4,561.16, and New Hampshire $4,396.20. Connecticut was at $4,065.68, New Jersey at $4,138.86, Delaware at $4,086.88, Maine at $3,931.06, Vermont at $3,516.69, and Pennsylvania at $3,417.36.
Southern states in the series likewise varied. Florida reported $4,526.46, Texas $4,375.21, Tennessee $4,202.02, South Carolina $4,178.66, Georgia $4,083.31, and Louisiana $3,900.12. Mississippi recorded $3,465.18, Alabama $3,405.37, Arkansas $3,311.37, and West Virginia $2,884.82.
The Midwest entries were concentrated across a broad middle range, with Illinois at $4,231.48, Minnesota at $3,631.69, Missouri at $3,671.37, Indiana at $3,613.60, Ohio at $3,598.43, Nebraska at $3,604.92, Michigan at $3,347.23, Iowa at $3,077.52, and Wisconsin at $3,098.56. These groupings are simple geographic descriptions of the reported values; no regional calculation is supplied here.
How to use the figures
For a breakfast cafe owner, analyst, or reader comparing locations, these statistics can serve as an initial context measure. A geography with a higher reported per-capita food-away-from-home figure may warrant attention when building a market shortlist, while a lower figure may call for closer local research. Neither conclusion is a performance prediction for a particular cafe.
The figures should be paired with breakfast-specific evidence before making decisions about rent, staffing, menu pricing, opening hours, or expansion. The supplied series does not report cafe counts, breakfast frequency, coffee purchases, bakery sales, customer demographics, occupancy costs, wages, or profit margins. It also does not provide a time series, so it cannot show whether 2024 represented growth or decline.
The most defensible reading is therefore narrow: in 2024, per-capita food-away-from-home sales differed across U.S. states and the District of Columbia, from $2,884.82 in West Virginia to $11,363.93 in the District of Columbia. Those state-level figures offer broad market context for breakfast cafes, but they should not be presented as breakfast cafe sales themselves.
Source: ERS state-fafh-sales.xlsx, 2024 state-level per-capita food-away-from-home sales. The source label and measurement period are retained as supplied.