Food and drink · Small-town market · Alabama
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Fort Payne, AL area
How the Fort Payne, AL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #148 of 507 scored small-town markets
#6 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Alabama
- Listings
- 18
- 3 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $78.8M
- On food away from home · $3,011 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.4M
- 6% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.9
- 30% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 74,085
- +3.4% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Fort Payne area
The site report maps the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Fort Payne area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $3,011 per household (26% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Payne area spend about $78.8M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.4M per shop, 6% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Fort Payne area has 18 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 6.9 per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Fort Payne area in 2023. That is one for every 5,236 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.4M has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Fort Payne area.
Population estimates show the Fort Payne area grew 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Fort Payne area is 60 (upper middle), #148 of 507 scored small-town markets and #6 of 10 scored small-town markets based in Alabama.
How the Fort Payne area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the bakeries and dessert shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Fort Payne area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.9 | 6.7 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.4M | $5.2M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 5,236 | 2,267 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +60.2% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,011 | $3,519 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,204 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 29
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $373K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 183 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Fort Payne area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Population and households in the Fort Payne area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 74,085+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 26,181
- Median age
- 40.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 777 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 93
- Median household income
- $51,204+26.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,235
- Median home value
- $152,700
- Jobs located here
- 22,918
- Daytime population
- 67,317Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Payne area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Fort Payne area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardBakeries and dessert shops across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Alabama for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Payne area marked.
Top small-town markets in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Scottsboro, AL | 78 | 5 | 2.3 | $13.6M | +3.3% | #17 of 507 |
| LaGrange, GA-AL | 74 | 19 | 4.7 | $6.9M | +3.0% | #34 of 507 |
| 2Talladega-Sylacauga, AL | 70 | 10 | 2.6 | $12M | 0.0% | #56 of 507 |
| 3Ozark, AL | 66 | 5 | 2.5 | $12.5M | +1.3% | #77 of 507 |
| 4Cullman, AL | 65 | 28 | 7.9 | $4.3M | +6.7% | #102 of 507 |
| 5Russellville, AL | 61 | 5 | 4.2 | $7.3M | +1.1% | #127 of 507 |
| 6Fort Payne, AL | 60 | 18 | 6.9 | $4.4M | +3.4% | #148 of 507 |
| 7Albertville, AL | 60 | 32 | 8.8 | $3.9M | +6.0% | #151 of 507 |
| 8Enterprise, AL | 59 | 15 | 7.1 | $5M | +6.3% | #157 of 507 |
| 9Alexander City, AL | 51 | 12 | 7.0 | $4.6M | −0.8% | #245 of 507 |
Other business types in the Fort Payne area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes62
- Sit-down restaurants54
- Fast food and sandwich shops52
- Pizza62
- Coffee shops and cafes53
- Bakeries and dessert shops60
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Fort Payne, AL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 bakeries and dessert shops in the Fort Payne area. 3 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Official counts list 4 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Fort Payne, AL area spend on food away from home?
About $78.8M a year, or $3,011 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.4M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,181 households in the Fort Payne area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Payne, AL area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Fort Payne area has 6.9 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 30% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.4M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Fort Payne area would have about 19, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,236 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Payne, AL area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Payne area at 74,085 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,181 households. The median household income in the Fort Payne area is $51,204 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Fort Payne area scores 60 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #148 of 507 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Payne area. It maps the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for bakeries and dessert shops · All 56 business types in the Fort Payne area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Payne area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Fort Payne area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.