Food and drink · County · California
Bakeries and dessert shops in Merced County, CA
How Merced County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #699 of 1,889 scored counties
#9 of 53 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 65
- 19 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 53
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +20.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $304.4M
- On food away from home · $3,537 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.6
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 297,260
- +5.1% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Merced County
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 Merced County. 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 $3,537 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in Merced County spend about $304.4M a year on food away from home. Spread across 65 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.7M per shop, 13% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Merced County has 65 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 7.6 for every 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 53 businesses with payroll in Merced County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 20.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,624 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 also show 18 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Merced County grew 5.1% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Merced County is 56 (upper middle), #699 of 1,889 scored counties and #9 of 53 scored counties in California.
How Merced County compares
The same measures for California 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 | Merced County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.6 | 11.7 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $3.9M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,624 | 916 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +20.5% | +14.4% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,537 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,510 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 44 → 53All snack bars and retail bakeries · +20.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 742
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $17.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 18All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6519 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 74The 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 Merced County, 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 Merced County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 297,260+5.1% since 2020
- Households
- 86,055
- Median age
- 32.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,938 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 150
- Median household income
- $65,510+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $87,781
- Median home value
- $391,800
- Jobs located here
- 77,775
- Daytime population
- 255,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Merced County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Merced County. 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in California, with Merced County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba County, CA | 88 | 9 | 3.1 | $12.1M | +8.2% | #25 of 1,889 |
| 2Colusa County, CA | 63 | 5 | 6.7 | $5.6M | −0.1% | #446 of 1,889 |
| 3Placer County, CA | 63 | 156 | 9.9 | $5M | +8.9% | #452 of 1,889 |
| 4San Benito County, CA | 62 | 20 | 9.7 | $5M | +8.6% | #471 of 1,889 |
| 5Contra Costa County, CA | 61 | 336 | 8.1 | $6.4M | +0.3% | #493 of 1,889 |
| 6San Joaquin County, CA | 61 | 219 | 8.9 | $4.8M | +5.5% | #511 of 1,889 |
| 7Solano County, CA | 57 | 139 | 8.8 | $5.1M | +0.6% | #648 of 1,889 |
| 8Lake County, CA | 56 | 12 | 4.5 | $7.9M | −0.6% | #676 of 1,889 |
| 9Merced County, CA | 56 | 65 | 7.6 | $4.7M | +5.1% | #699 of 1,889 |
| 10Del Norte County, CA | 55 | 5 | 5.3 | $6.8M | −4.4% | #720 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Merced County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes60
- Sit-down restaurants63
- Fast food and sandwich shops49
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes56
- Bakeries and dessert shops56
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 Merced County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 65 bakeries and dessert shops in Merced County. 19 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 53 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 20.5% 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. Another 18 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Merced County, CA spend on food away from home?
About $304.4M a year, or $3,537 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 65 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 86,055 households in Merced County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Merced County, CA compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Merced County has 7.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Merced County would have about 74, against 65 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,624 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Merced County, CA growing?
Population estimates put Merced County at 297,260 people in 2025, up 5.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,055 households. The median household income in Merced County is $65,510 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.1% 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. Merced County scores 56 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #699 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Merced County. 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 Merced County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Merced County?
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 Merced County. 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.