Starbucks on health inspections, place by place
See what routine health inspections recorded at Starbucks restaurants in each place we cover, next to the local rate for that same place. Every figure comes from that government’s own records.
Records through September 19, 2026.
In plain terms
Starbucks has enough routine inspections to chart in five of the six places we cover. Its restaurants came in clearly under the local rate in all five.
Each place counts a different thing, so read each row against its own tall line and never against another row. Part of any gap is the menu: a chain that handles less raw food gives an inspector less to find.
Place by place
In each row the tall line is the local rate for that place. The bar is the range the chain’s real rate probably falls in, and the short tick is the rate we measured. Every row has its own scale, printed at its ends, because every place counts a different event.
- Clearly under the local rate
- Too close to call
- Clearly over
Too few inspections to chart (under 100): Florida (92).
Compare Starbucks with another chain, place by place.
What stands out
Under the local rate in all five places where it can be charted. In New York City, New York State, Austin and Seattle and King County, even the top of its range is less than half the local rate.
A coffee counter is the easy case. New York State’s health department sorts kitchens by how much preparation they do. It names “table-service restaurants, diners and school kitchens which prepare foods” as typical high risk, and “bars and coffee shops,” serving food that needs “minimal preparation,” as typical low risk. Every local rate on this page includes table-service restaurants, so part of any gap between a chain and the local rate is the kind of kitchen, before anyone’s management comes into it. This page is better read as what a low-risk menu looks like in each place’s records than as a verdict on how the stores are run.
The most inspections are in Seattle and King County. 84 of 930 (9.0%, likely range 7.4% to 11.0%), against 35.6% for all food service establishments.
Florida is missing, and we can only half explain it. Only 92 Florida inspections matched the name, and most of the names that matched are counters inside hotels, airports and resorts. Ordinary Starbucks stores do not appear in the state’s restaurant file in any number. We have not confirmed why, so we say only that; the Florida page has the detail.
Analysis written September 2026. The figures in it are read from the current records, so they move when the records do.
How these figures are made
- Sources. New York City: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; New York State: New York State Department of Health; Chicago: Chicago Department of Public Health; Austin: Austin Public Health; Seattle and King County: Public Health - Seattle & King County. Each place’s page says exactly which inspections are counted and why.
- The figure. In each place, the number of the chain’s counted routine inspections that recorded that place’s finding, divided by all of them. The local rate is the same sum over everything in that place’s file.
- The range. A 95% Wilson score interval. Fewer inspections means a wider range. A chain needs 100 counted inspections in a place to be charted there.
- Matching names. Restaurant names are matched to Starbucks with a published table of name patterns, which also lists every spelling it matched. A location recorded under two chain names is counted for neither. If a match is wrong, write to hello@fastfoodfact.com.
- No combined figure. Nothing on this page adds, averages or orders rates from two places. The only number that spans places is a count of where the chain sits against each local rate.
The full method is on the methodology page.
New York State data: The analyses, interpretations and conclusions drawn from New York State data on this site were reached by FastFoodFact and not by the New York State Department of Health. The department states that this data was not collected for use as a restaurant grading system and does not support or endorse such a use; the figures here describe groups of inspections and are not a grade of any restaurant.
Chicago data: This site provides applications using data that has been modified for use from its original source, www.cityofchicago.org, the official website of the City of Chicago. The City of Chicago makes no claims as to the content, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any of the data provided at this site. The data provided at this site is subject to change at any time. It is understood that the data provided at this site is being used at one’s own risk.
What this does not show
- Management quality on its own. Chains differ in what they handle. A coffee counter deals with far less raw food than a kitchen that fries chicken, so part of any gap between a chain and the local rate is the menu, and the local rate includes full-service kitchens that do far more cooking than any chain here.
- The brand as a whole. These are Starbucks locations in five places over a few years. The records say nothing about its locations anywhere else.
- Anything about one restaurant. A figure sums up many inspections at many locations. It is not a warning about, or a recommendation of, the one near you.
- Which place is stricter or cleaner. Each place counts a different event under different rules, so the rows cannot be set against each other.
Informational only. These are public records, summarized; they are not a safety rating of any restaurant and not professional advice. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How does Starbucks do on health inspections?
It depends on the place, and each place counts something different. Starbucks has enough routine inspections to chart in five of the six places this site covers (New York City, New York State, Chicago, Austin and Seattle and King County). Its restaurants came in clearly under the local rate in all five. The figures describe those locations over those years, not the brand everywhere and not any one restaurant.
Can the Starbucks figures be compared between places?
No. New York City counts inspections that scored 14 or more points, New York State counts inspections that recorded at least one critical (red) violation, Chicago counts inspections that ended in a Fail, Austin counts inspections that scored under 90, below the city's top category and Seattle and King County counts inspections that received an Unsatisfactory result. Those are different events under different rules, so a lower number in one place does not mean cleaner restaurants there. The only fair reading is each figure against its own place's local rate.
Where do these figures come from?
From inspection records published by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State Department of Health, the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Austin Public Health and the Public Health - Seattle & King County. We count routine inspections only, match restaurant names to chains with a published table of name patterns, and need 100 inspections in a place before charting a chain there.
Does this say anything about the Starbucks near me?
No. A figure here sums up many inspections at many locations. For one restaurant's record, look it up with the health department that inspects it; each place page on this site links to its source.
Related tools
How often each chain's New York City restaurants scored too many points for an A on a first inspection, against the rate for all restaurants in the city.
Open tool →Fast-food chains in New York StateHow often inspectors recorded a critical violation at each chain's restaurants in New York State outside New York City, Suffolk and Erie, against the rate for all food service establishments there.
Open tool →Fast-food chains in ChicagoHow often routine city inspections ended in a Fail at each chain's Chicago restaurants, against the rate for all restaurants in the city.
Open tool →Fast-food chains in AustinHow often routine city inspections scored under 90 at each chain's Austin restaurants, against the rate for all food establishments in the city.
Open tool →Fast-food chains in Seattle and King CountyHow often routine county inspections were marked Unsatisfactory at each chain's restaurants in Seattle and King County, against the rate for all food service establishments in the county.
Open tool →