Food and drink · Small-town market · Arkansas
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Forrest City, AR area
How the Forrest City, 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 25 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #476 of 507 scored small-town markets
#11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 5
- 3 chain locations (60%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $21.6M
- On food away from home · $2,773 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.3M
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.4
- 35% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 21,800
- −5.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Forrest City 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 Forrest City 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
For bakeries and dessert shops, the Forrest City area has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #476 of 507 scored small-town markets and #11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on food away from home in the Forrest City area comes to about $21.6M a year: $2,773 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. Spread across 5 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.3M per shop, 4% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Forrest City area has 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 60% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 6.4 for every 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for snack bars and retail bakeries in the Forrest City area, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates show the Forrest City area declined 5.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Forrest City 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.
| Measure | Forrest City area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.4 | 9.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.3M | $3.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | n/a | 1,884 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +47.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −5.3% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $2,773 | $3,400 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $42,574 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 25 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/aAll snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 53 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Forrest City 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 Forrest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 21,800−5.3% since 2020
- Households
- 7,783
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 635 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 35
- Median household income
- $42,574+20.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $58,099
- Median home value
- $90,900
- Jobs located here
- 6,530
- Daytime population
- 21,343Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forrest City 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 Forrest City 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 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 Forrest City area marked.
Top small-town markets in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Paragould, AR | 67 | 11 | 6.1 | $5.3M | +3.4% | #75 of 507 |
| 2Mountain Home, AR | 55 | 10 | 5.2 | $5.9M | +3.1% | #201 of 507 |
| 3Harrison, AR | 53 | 12 | 6.5 | $4.8M | +2.4% | #221 of 507 |
| 4Pine Bluff, AR | 49 | 16 | 5.9 | $5.1M | −5.6% | #268 of 507 |
| 5Camden, AR | 45 | 7 | 6.8 | $4.5M | −3.6% | #299 of 507 |
| 6Russellville, AR | 40 | 29 | 8.9 | $3.7M | +1.6% | #357 of 507 |
| 7Batesville, AR | 38 | 13 | 8.9 | $3.6M | +2.2% | #379 of 507 |
| 8Searcy, AR | 37 | 26 | 8.8 | $3.6M | +4.2% | #389 of 507 |
| 9El Dorado, AR | 33 | 12 | 8.0 | $4M | −5.2% | #424 of 507 |
| 10Blytheville, AR | 30 | 11 | 7.1 | $4.5M | −6.7% | #444 of 507 |
| 11Forrest City, AR | 25 | 5 | 6.4 | $4.3M | −5.3% | #476 of 507 |
Other business types in the Forrest City area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes19
- Sit-down restaurants17
- Fast food and sandwich shops11
- Pizza19
- Coffee shops and cafes23
- Bakeries and dessert shops25
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 Forrest City, AR area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 bakeries and dessert shops in the Forrest City area. 3 of them (60%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. No official count is published for snack bars and retail bakeries in the Forrest City area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Forrest City, AR area spend on food away from home?
About $21.6M a year, or $2,773 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.3M 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 7,783 households in the Forrest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forrest City, AR area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Forrest City area has 6.4 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 35% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.3M, 4% above 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.
How fast is the Forrest City, AR area growing?
Population estimates put the Forrest City area at 21,800 people in 2025, down 5.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,783 households. The median household income in the Forrest City area is $42,574 a year, 47% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.4% 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 Forrest City area scores 25 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #476 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 Forrest City 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 Forrest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forrest City 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 Forrest City 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.