The first Starbucks opened in Seattle 50 years ago. For its first five years, the company just sold beans and not coffee drinks. In the early 1980s, after one-time employee Howard Schutz took it over, it pivoted from bean provider to Italian-inspired cafe serving ever more elaborate coffee drinks (eventually including the famed Pumpkin Spice Latte, introduced in 2003).
Starbucks didn’t venture outside its hometown until 1987, when it expanded to Chicago and Vancouver, British Columbia. Fast forward to 2021 and Starbucks is in every state and has many outlets overseas as well. (These are the best coffee cities in America.)
What states have the most Starbucks in total and the most per capita? To answer that question, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data collected by NiceRx, a patient assistance program and medication access company, using numbers for total fast-food restaurants taken from the U.S. Census Bureau and tracking the nation’s ten most popular chains as determined by ScrapeHero.com. (Population figures are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.) We then ranked the states by their per capita Starbucks population per 100,000 residents, lowest to highest.
It turns out that the Starbucks capital of America is, not surprisingly, the company’s home state of Washington, with 9.7 units per 100,000 people. It’s followed by Colorado with 8.8, Nevada and Oregon with 8.2 each, and California with 7.4. So it looks as if Starbucks has something of a focus on the West and Northwest.
Click here to see the Starbucks capitals of America
Interestingly Alaska, which ranks at or near the bottom of our lists of fast food capitals generally, claims the No. 7 spot with 6.6 Starbucks restaurants per 100,000 people. Alaskans may like fast food less than other Americans, but they seem to like their coffee quite a bit. (Here are 20 signs you might be drinking too much coffee.)
Another geographic trend may be evident at the other end of our list. The No. 50 and 49 spots are claimed by Mississippi and Alabama, which have only 1.2 and 1.8 Starbucks restaurants per 100,000 people, respectively. Both are in the Deep South and both rank much higher in their number of other fast food outlets.
50. Mississippi
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 1.2
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 36 — 9th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,976,149 — 17th lowest
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49. Alabama
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 1.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 88 — 17th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 4,903,185 — 24th highest
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48. Vermont
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 1.9
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 12 — the lowest
> Total population in 2019: 623,989 — 2nd lowest
47. Arkansas
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.0
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 60 — 13th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,017,804 — 18th lowest
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46. Oklahoma
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.1
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 83 — 16th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,956,971 — 23rd lowest
45. West Virginia
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.2
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 39 — 10th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,792,147 — 13th lowest
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44. Louisiana
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.2
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 102 — 20th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 4,648,794 — 25th highest
43. Maine
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 31 — 6th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,344,212 — 9th lowest
42. Rhode Island
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.4
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 25 — 4th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,059,361 — 7th lowest
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41. New Hampshire
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.4
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 33 — 7th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,359,711 — 10th lowest
40. North Dakota
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 2.5
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 19 — 2nd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 762,062 — 4th lowest
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39. Kentucky
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.0
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 134 — 25th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 4,467,673 — 25th lowest
38. Wisconsin
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.0
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 175 — 25th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,822,434 — 20th highest
37. Michigan
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.0
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 300 — 15th highest
> Total population in 2019: 9,986,857 — 10th highest
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36. Pennsylvania
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.1
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 397 — 12th highest
> Total population in 2019: 12,801,989 — 5th highest
35. South Dakota
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 29 — 5th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 884,659 — 5th lowest
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34. Missouri
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 203 — 23rd highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,137,428 — 18th highest
33. New Jersey
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 293 — 16th highest
> Total population in 2019: 8,882,190 — 11th highest
32. New York
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 642 — 5th highest
> Total population in 2019: 19,453,561 — 4th highest
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31. Connecticut
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.4
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 121 — 24th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,565,287 — 22nd lowest
30. Tennessee
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.4
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 232 — 21st highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,829,174 — 16th highest
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29. Delaware
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.6
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 35 — 8th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 973,764 — 6th lowest
28. Nebraska
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.6
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 70 — 14th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,934,408 — 14th lowest
27. Georgia
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.6
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 382 — 13th highest
> Total population in 2019: 10,617,423 — 8th highest
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26. Florida
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.6
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 773 — 3rd highest
> Total population in 2019: 21,477,737 — 3rd highest
25. Iowa
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.7
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 117 — 21st lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,155,070 — 20th lowest
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24. Utah
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.7
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 119 — 22nd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 3,205,958 — 21st lowest
23. Montana
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 41 — 11th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,068,778 — 8th lowest
22. South Carolina
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 196 — 24th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,148,714 — 23rd highest
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21. Minnesota
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 214 — 22nd highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,639,632 — 22nd highest
20. Ohio
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 444 — 9th highest
> Total population in 2019: 11,689,100 — 7th highest
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19. Indiana
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.9
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 263 — 19th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,732,219 — 17th highest
18. Massachusetts
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.9
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 269 — 18th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,892,503 — 15th highest
17. North Carolina
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 3.9
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 409 — 11th highest
> Total population in 2019: 10,488,084 — 9th highest
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16. Kansas
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.1
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 119 — 23rd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,913,314 — 16th lowest
15. Texas
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.1
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 1189 — 2nd highest
> Total population in 2019: 28,995,881 — 2nd highest
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14. Wyoming
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 25 — 3rd lowest
> Total population in 2019: 578,759 — the lowest
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13. Idaho
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 77 — 15th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,787,065 — 12th lowest
12. New Mexico
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.5
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 94 — 19th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 2,096,829 — 15th lowest
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11. Maryland
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.6
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 278 — 17th highest
> Total population in 2019: 6,045,680 — 19th highest
10. Illinois
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 4.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 608 — 6th highest
> Total population in 2019: 12,671,821 — 6th highest
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9. Virginia
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 5.2
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 444 — 10th highest
> Total population in 2019: 8,535,519 — 12th highest
8. Hawaii
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 6.4
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 91 — 18th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 1,415,872 — 11th lowest
7. Alaska
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 6.6
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 48 — 12th lowest
> Total population in 2019: 731,545 — 3rd lowest
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6. Arizona
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 7.3
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 531 — 7th highest
> Total population in 2019: 7,278,717 — 14th highest
5. California
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 7.4
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 2924 — the highest
> Total population in 2019: 39,512,223 — the highest
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4. Nevada
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 8.2
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 253 — 20th highest
> Total population in 2019: 3,080,156 — 19th lowest
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3. Oregon
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 8.2
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 346 — 14th highest
> Total population in 2019: 4,217,737 — 24th lowest
2. Colorado
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 8.8
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 507 — 8th highest
> Total population in 2019: 5,758,736 — 21st highest
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1. Washington
> All Starbucks restaurants per 100K people: 9.7
> Total Starbucks restaurants: 739 — 4th highest
> Total population in 2019: 7,614,893 — 13th highest
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