America's Ten Most Caffeinated Cities (PHOTOS)

With coffee intake nationwide on the rise as of late, Bundle decided to crunch the numbers to determine which U.S. cities spend the most money on coffee.

According to their findings, released Monday, Chicago took top ranking as average households spent 2.94 times the national average at city coffee shops, allowing the city to squeak past New York City (where households spent 2.9 times the national average on coffee) for the honor of the nation's "most caffeinated" metropolis. Rounding out the top five were three West Coast cities -- Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.

(Scroll down to see how the rest of the nation's top 10 "most caffeinated" cities stacked up.)

In order to arrive at their ranking, Bundle analyzed consumer spending at 16 coffee chains across the country during the second quarter of 2011, based on data from 20 million anonymous Visa and Mastercard holders.

The ranking draws similar, though not identical, conclusions to an analysis completed by The Daily Beast last year. In that ranking, based on the availability of coffee and the intake of all forms of caffeine (including tea, energy drinks and pills), Seattle took top honors, followed by Portland, San Jose, Denver and San Francisco. Chicago ranked only sixth and New York came ninth.

For cities ranking high on the list, some economists might suggest that the higher-than-normal levels of coffee consumption could be at least somewhat indicative of economic recovery coming down the pike. One economist told Daily Finance last month that there is some correlation between economic stability and the amount of money that consumers shell out more to satisfy their caffeine fix.

"As consumers feel more comfortable with their jobs, it's not surprising to see people spend more on coffee outside of their home," Moody's economist Ryan Sweet told Daily Finance.

Is your city one of America's most caffeinated? Find out here:

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Comments

[adamben]

10:13 AM on 09/22/2011

dumb study for the lazy, as well as over-reaching since it should say "top ten cities where people use credit cards to purchase coffee from major chain coffee shops".

maybe someone should do a little work and see how much coffee is delivered every month to these cities. my coffee shop is a local chain (4 locations) and i buy by the pound, as many people do (there are dozens of 50lb sacks) and we all pay in cash. multiply this througout the city (nyc)f and we are talking tons of coffee that was missed by this study (as well as in other cities as well).

[mellene]

01:20 PM on 09/20/2011

Pretty sure I've had coffee in most of these cities. The biggest challenge is always finding a good cup that's close to where you're at. I usally travel with my own beans and pot to guarantee a good cup first thing in the morning.

[jdor1996]

09:47 AM on 09/20/2011

The irony in these statistics is that individuals will swipe a card for a $2 cup of coffee nowadays because it's either "convenient" or they want to track their spending... yet completely ignore that they'll eventually have to spend more for the same product because the merchant has to raise prices to cover the sometimes $.20+ swipe fee on small purchases.

The list should more accurately be called "Top Ten cities where a $2 cup of coffee has turned into a $3 cup of coffee thanks to card swipe fees."

[jackdaniel58]

08:58 AM on 09/20/2011

Why have we made having a freakin cup of coffee a cultural event? Same question as to why making a phone call has become entertainment.?

[JScott]

12:50 AM on 09/21/2011

Nothing new, coffeehouses were quite the rage in Europe Austria in particular when coffee was fashionable after tea went out.

[DanoX]

07:51 AM on 09/20/2011

So they are the most "caffeinated" cities because coffee is more exspensive there? How about we do a study that looks at how much is actually consumed per household instead of how much money is spent.

[icedover4ever]

10:32 PM on 09/19/2011

I'm still trying to figure out who thinks all of these weird studies up and why. Why would you waste time energy and money on a study to see who drinks more coffee? The findings really mean nothing. Maybe other cities are making their coffee at home.

[jdor1996]

10:23 PM on 09/19/2011

I can tell you exactly why no city in New England is on this list, even though the entire region is fueled by iced coffee for most of the year... It's a list based on amount spent at coffee businesses on credit cards, and New England is dominated by Dunkin' Donuts where credit card purchases are a relatively new thing, and quietly frowned upon because there is no tip line. Any DD junkie knows you bring cash to keep things moving quick and you tip your cashier so your coffee is just right in the future. Question answered, next BS statistic please!

[rich3324]

09:37 AM on 09/20/2011

You want a tip for pouring the coffee from the pot into a cup?

[jdor1996]

10:20 AM on 09/20/2011

They don't expect it, but the customers expect to be able to leave them a tip, especially at a Dunkin' Donuts vs. a NW style coffee house because they still put your dairy and sweetener in for you... and are expected to get it right.

It's a which came first, the chicken or the egg paradox really... would you say I always had my coffee waiting on the counter for me just the way I like it when my car pulled up because I left a tip, or did I leave a tip for the consistently excellent service I got?

When it comes to service, you get what you pay for. If you think minimum wage or slightly higher is enough pay for how hard these people work, and don't think they deserve a tip when they do a great job, then guess what, you're going to get minimum service. Excellent service employees are typically tipped well, and when that turns an $8/hr job into a $13/hr job, it keeps good people behind the counter giving you great, quick service that everyone should appreciate.

[janinei]

10:09 PM on 09/19/2011

Were is Berkeley, home of Peet's coffee??

[ChiTownGirl]

08:54 PM on 09/19/2011

I'm doing my part: 3 weekly visits to Dunkin D & 3-4 weekly to Starbucks.

[annadams]

08:48 PM on 09/19/2011

That's why all the businesses should move to Chicago. Chicago workers drink up on the caffeine in order to be twice as productive as employees in other cities. We can really crank out the work here.

[Sue Bryant]

11:33 AM on 09/20/2011

Chicago is ranked sixth, not first. It's just the first city to vote on.

[jh61]

02:02 PM on 09/20/2011

Chicago is first.

"The ranking draws similar, though not identical, conclusions to an analysis completed by The Daily Beast last year. In that ranking, based on the availability of coffee and the intake of all forms of caffeine (including tea, energy drinks and pills), Seattle took top honors, followed by Portland, San Jose, Denver and San Francisco. Chicago ranked only sixth and New York came ninth."

[Ortho Stice]

07:14 PM on 09/19/2011

What? Ican'tbelieveChicagoisnumberone-we'renotcaffinatedorhyperactiveatall!

[Sue Bryant]

11:34 AM on 09/20/2011

It's not, it's sixth! "Seattle took top honors, followed by Portland, San Jose, Denver and San Francisco. Chicago ranked only sixth and New York came ninth."

[jh61]

02:27 PM on 09/20/2011

See my post above. You are wrong.

[Ortho Stice]

05:15 PM on 09/22/2011

I am just going with the information in the article. I did not do my own exhaustive research.

[sbfreeways]

06:28 PM on 09/19/2011

Surprised that no city in New England makes the list... there's only a coffee shop around every corner and off ramp...

[jdevans]

08:15 PM on 09/19/2011

In downtown Chicago its like a coffee shop on every block.

[DanoX]

07:54 AM on 09/20/2011

Because this was a study of how much money is spent per household, not how much is consumed. So cities with higher cost of living indexes come out at the top. In other words, it is a worthless "study".

[Katco]

11:24 AM on 09/20/2011

Precisely!

[apollok]

05:54 PM on 09/19/2011

alright, chicago! ... i guess?

also, i think that l.a. location pictured is intelligentsia... which started, and is still based, in chicago. (we also just exported our permanent records to l.a., although i guess we've also sent a lot of residents that way, too...)

[cameron d]

05:49 PM on 09/19/2011

Notice how all of these are good cities?

[EatMeSF]

09:42 PM on 09/19/2011

Not Miami...

[cameron d]

02:17 AM on 09/20/2011

That was the only "iffy" one.

[Mattcat25]

05:22 PM on 09/19/2011

ccccccofffeeee!!!