Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Arkansas

Bakeries and dessert shops in the El Dorado, AR area

How the El Dorado, AR 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 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #424 of 507 scored small-town markets
#9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas

Listings
12
4 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
7
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$48.2M
On food away from home · $3,211 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.0
18% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,926
−5.2% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the El Dorado 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 El Dorado area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The El Dorado area scores 33 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #424 of 507 scored small-town markets and #9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 bakeries and dessert shops in the El Dorado area. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 33%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.0 for every 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

At $3,211 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in the El Dorado area spend about $48.2M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4M per shop, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the El Dorado area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 2,143 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Population estimates put the population change in the El Dorado area from 2020 to 2025 at −5.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the El Dorado area compares

The same measures for Arkansas 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in El Dorado, AR area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureEl Dorado areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.09.09.8
Spending per listing$4M$3.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,1431,8841,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+47.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−5.2%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,211$3,400$4,070
Median household income$55,259$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score3342

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
33
Annual payroll, 2023
$587K
One-person businesses, 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
124 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the El Dorado 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 El Dorado area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,926−5.2% since 2020
Households
15,002
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,039 sq. mi.
People per square mile
36
Median household income
$55,259+23.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,348
Median home value
$120,900
Jobs located here
17,166
Daytime population
38,875Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the El Dorado 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.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Arkansas for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with the El Dorado area marked.

Top small-town markets in Arkansas

Small-town markets in Arkansas ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Paragould, AR67116.1$5.3M+3.4%#75 of 507
2Mountain Home, AR55105.2$5.9M+3.1%#201 of 507
3Harrison, AR53126.5$4.8M+2.4%#221 of 507
4Pine Bluff, AR49165.9$5.1M−5.6%#268 of 507
5Camden, AR4576.8$4.5M−3.6%#299 of 507
6Russellville, AR40298.9$3.7M+1.6%#357 of 507
7Batesville, AR38138.9$3.6M+2.2%#379 of 507
8Searcy, AR37268.8$3.6M+4.2%#389 of 507
9El Dorado, AR33128.0$4M−5.2%#424 of 507
10Blytheville, AR30117.1$4.5M−6.7%#444 of 507

Other business types in the El Dorado area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the El Dorado, AR area?

There are 12 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the El Dorado area as of September 2026. 4 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the El Dorado, AR area spend on food away from home?

About $48.2M a year, or $3,211 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4M per shop. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,002 households in the El Dorado area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the El Dorado, AR area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The El Dorado area has 8.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,143 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the El Dorado, AR area growing?

Population estimates put the El Dorado area at 36,926 people in 2025, down 5.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,002 households. Median household income in the El Dorado area is $55,259, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.7%, 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 El Dorado area scores 33 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #424 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 El Dorado 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 El Dorado area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Dorado area?

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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.