Food and drink · County · California
Bakeries and dessert shops in Riverside County, CA
The bakeries and dessert shops in Riverside County, CA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #786 of 1,889 scored counties
#14 of 53 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 788
- 326 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 685
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +24.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $3.3B
- On food away from home · $4,319 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.2M
- 3% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.2
- 4% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,544,916
- +5.0% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Riverside 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 Riverside 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
Household spending on food away from home in Riverside County comes to about $3.3B a year: $4,319 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. That works out to $4.2M per shop, 3% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Riverside County has 788 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 326 of them (41%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.2, 4% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 685 businesses with payroll in Riverside County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 24.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,132 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 163 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 41 SBA-backed loans worth $15.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Riverside County.
Population estimates show Riverside County grew 5.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Riverside County scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #786 of 1,889 scored counties and #14 of 53 scored counties in California.
How Riverside 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 | Riverside County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.2 | 11.7 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.2M | $3.9M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,132 | 916 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +24.3% | +14.4% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,319 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $93,074 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 551 → 685All snack bars and retail bakeries · +24.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 8,431
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $207.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 163All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 788326 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 808The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 41
- Amount
- $15.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Riverside 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 Riverside County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,544,916+5.0% since 2020
- Households
- 775,335
- Median age
- 38.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 7,209 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 344
- Median household income
- $93,074+38.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $118,893
- Median home value
- $557,300
- Jobs located here
- 814,658
- Daytime population
- 2,232,472Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Riverside 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 Riverside 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 Riverside 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 |
| 14Riverside County, CA | 54 | 788 | 10.2 | $4.2M | +5.0% | #786 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Riverside County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes59
- Sit-down restaurants64
- Fast food and sandwich shops56
- Pizza67
- Coffee shops and cafes56
- Bakeries and dessert shops54
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 Riverside County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 788 bakeries and dessert shops in Riverside County. 326 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 685 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 24.3% 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 163 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Riverside County, CA spend on food away from home?
About $3.3B a year, or $4,319 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 788 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.2M 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 775,335 households in Riverside County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Riverside County, CA compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Riverside County has 10.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 4% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.2M, 3% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Riverside County would have about 808, against 788 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,132 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Riverside County, CA growing?
Population estimates put Riverside County at 2,544,916 people in 2025, up 5.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 775,335 households. The median household income in Riverside County is $93,074 a year, 15% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.9% 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. Riverside County scores 54 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #786 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Riverside 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 Riverside County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Riverside 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 Riverside 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.