The Most Popular Coffee Shop In The USA Is Probably What You Expect

With tens of thousands of coffee shops across the United States, the country’s not exactly wanting for a place to get a latte. A few names, though, dominate the conversation – and if you’re thinking we’re going to start reeling off the likes of Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Dutch Bros, then yep! We are. These huge chains are absolutely everywhere, and as a result, they’re countless people’s go-tos (whether they like it or not, in some cases, especially when other options are limited). 

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In case you needed any more proof of this, the results of a recent survey confirm it. The nation’s favorite coffee shop is, according to DATA…

Drumroll Please…

…Starbucks! That’s according to the YouGov survey, at least. The study polled 35,000 Americans over 12 months to ask them what they considered the best coffee chain in the country to be, and Starbucks won out, with 22.9% of the vote. Starbucks was also voted the most popular “specialty dining brand,” a category that encompassed coffee chains and ice cream and bakery chains like Cinnabon and Cold Stone Creamery, where it took 31.3% of the share. 

That Starbucks sits so prominently in the minds of many people probably isn’t surprising, given its huge size. The chain currently has around 16,000 locations, beating the next-biggest, Dunkin’, by several thousand. The latter, incidentally, came second in the rankings for the top coffee chains, with 14.4% of the vote, and was the second-most-considered specialty dining brand overall. Here, it lost by just a whisker to Starbucks, with 31.1% of the vote. 

Runners-Up

Rounding out the top-rated coffee shops in the YouGov survey were McDonald’s McCafe with 7.9% of the vote, Dutch Bros with 4%, and Peet’s Coffee with 3.8%. McCafe’s presence on the list is an indicator of how much McDonald’s has done to expand its drinks options in the last few years, something that it’s continued to do in 2026 with its new dirty sodas and refreshers.

Dutch Bros, with its abundant secret menu, was the only other coffee-specific chain to crack the top 10 of specialist dining brand customers would consider, where it came ninth, with 8.1%. It should be said, though, that other brands that sell coffee, but which specialize in something else, were also represented here: Krispy Kreme was the third-most-considered specialty dining brand by customers, with 19.9% of the vote. Pick up a coffee with that World Cup deal, maybe.