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The 30 Largest US Cities Without a Local Coffee Roaster, 2026

America has 6,818 independent coffee roasters — and yet 30 cities of 100,000+ people have at most one in our directory (12 have none we can find). Most are fast-growing suburbs where the population arrived before the coffee culture did. If you've ever dreamed of opening a roastery, this is the closest thing to a map of open territory.

The list, largest first

#	City	Population (2024)	Roasters listed
1	North Las Vegas, NV	294,034	1
2	Garland, TX	250,431	0
3	Santa Clarita, CA	229,159	1
4	Montgomery, AL	195,818	0
5	Surprise, AZ	167,564	1
6	Killeen, TX	160,616	0
7	Paterson, NJ	160,463	1
8	Pasadena, TX	149,617	1
9	Pomona, CA	147,966	1
10	Thornton, CO	146,689	0
11	Miramar, FL	143,242	1
12	Palm Bay, FL	142,023	0
13	Elizabeth, NJ	140,413	0
14	Meridian, ID	139,740	1
15	Warren, MI	137,686	0
16	Hampton, VA	137,596	1
17	New Haven, CT	137,562	1
18	College Station, TX	128,023	1
19	Simi Valley, CA	125,778	1
20	Thousand Oaks, CA	124,229	1
21	Concord, CA	124,016	1
22	Vallejo, CA	123,475	1
23	Independence, MO	121,629	0
24	League City, TX	118,456	0
25	Waterbury, CT	115,908	0
26	Richmond, CA	115,353	1
27	Elgin, IL	114,701	0
28	Conroe, TX	114,581	1
29	Greeley, CO	114,363	1
30	Buckeye, AZ	114,334	0

North Las Vegas, Nevada is the biggest open market: 294,034 residents and just one independent roaster listed. Nearly every city here sits minutes from a major roasting scene — which is exactly why nobody has planted a flag yet.

Cite this data

Journalists, bloggers, and researchers: this dataset is free to cite with attribution. Suggested line:

"12 US cities of 100,000+ people have no local independent coffee roaster, per coffeeroasternearme.com's 2026 national directory data" — coffeeroasternearme.com/coffee-stats/underserved/

Download the full dataset (CSV) · Updated July 15, 2026 · License: CC BY 4.0

Methodology

We compared US Census Bureau 2024 population estimates for incorporated cities of 100,000+ residents against our continuously maintained national directory of 6,818 independent coffee roasters and roaster-cafés (compiled from public business listings). A city makes this list when we can find at most one roaster inside its limits. Two honest caveats: counts reflect what's verifiable from public listings, so a brand-new or very low-profile roastery could be missed — "0" means "none we can find," not a guarantee of zero. And city limits are literal: many of these cities border strong roasting scenes a short drive away. Census consolidated-government names are normalized to everyday usage (e.g. "Urban Honolulu" → Honolulu).

Compare the other end of the spectrum: America's coffee roasting capitals, or the state-by-state stats hub. Looking for beans near one of these cities? Browse roasters by state — start with Nevada.