Food and drink · Metro area · Arkansas
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area
The bakeries and dessert shops in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #201 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 271
- 106 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 177
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +27.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.1B
- On food away from home · $3,597 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.1M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.7
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 777,607
- +3.8% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 $3,597 per household (12% below the U.S. average), households in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area spend about $1.1B a year on food away from home. That is about $4.1M of household spending for each shop on map listings, in line with the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area has 271 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 106 are chain locations, or 39%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 8.7 per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 177 businesses with payroll in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 27.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,760 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. Official counts list 57 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $615K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area is 49 (lower middle), #201 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas.
How the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.1M | $3.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,760 | 1,884 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +27.2% | +47.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.8% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,597 | $3,400 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $67,154 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 177All snack bars and retail bakeries · +27.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,906
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $37.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 57All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 271106 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 271The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $615K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 777,607+3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 311,547
- Median age
- 38.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 4,084 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 186
- Median household income
- $67,154+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,342
- Median home value
- $214,100
- Jobs located here
- 361,659
- Daytime population
- 794,293Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 metro areas in Arkansas for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | 51 | 244 | 11.3 | $3.5M | +13.1% | #192 of 387 |
| 2Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 49 | 271 | 8.7 | $4.1M | +3.8% | #201 of 387 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 46 | 434 | 8.3 | $4.4M | −0.3% | #235 of 387 |
| 3Jonesboro, AR | 43 | 47 | 8.8 | $3.8M | +3.6% | #260 of 387 |
| 4Fort Smith, AR-OK | 33 | 100 | 11.0 | $3M | +3.1% | #321 of 387 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 28 | 80 | 14.2 | $2.3M | −0.4% | #358 of 387 |
| 5Hot Springs, AR | 17 | 53 | 12.1 | $2.7M | −0.6% | #385 of 387 |
Other business types in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes46
- Sit-down restaurants42
- Fast food and sandwich shops39
- Pizza40
- Coffee shops and cafes58
- Bakeries and dessert shops49
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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 271 bakeries and dessert shops in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area. 106 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 177 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 27.2% from 2019. 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 also show 57 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area spend on food away from home?
About $1.1B a year, or $3,597 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 271 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.1M 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 311,547 households in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area has 8.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.1M, in line with 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 1,760 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 27.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area at 777,607 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 311,547 households. The median household income in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area is $67,154 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.7% 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. 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area scores 49 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #201 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro 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.