Food and drink · Small-town market · California
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Sonora, CA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Sonora, CA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #447 of 507 scored small-town markets
#7 of 8 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 26
- 3 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 21
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $88.8M
- On food away from home · $3,914 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.5
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 53,160
- −4.0% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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
The Sonora area scores 30 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #447 of 507 scored small-town markets and #7 of 8 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Sonora area spend about $88.8M a year on food away from home, or $3,914 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 18% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Sonora area has 26 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 12% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 11.5 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Official counts show 21 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Sonora area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,080 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $566K has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Sonora area. Population estimates show the Sonora area declined 4.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Sonora area 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 | Sonora area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.5 | 11.7 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $3.9M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,080 | 916 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +14.4% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,914 | $4,559 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $77,404 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 21All snack bars and retail bakeries · 0.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 194
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 263 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 21The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $566K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Sonora 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 Sonora area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 53,160−4.0% since 2020
- Households
- 22,690
- Median age
- 48.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,221 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 25
- Median household income
- $77,404+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,064
- Median home value
- $433,200
- Jobs located here
- 16,129
- Daytime population
- 40,598Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sonora area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 71 | 13 | 6.0 | $7.2M | +0.9% | #49 of 507 |
| 1Clearlake, CA | 59 | 12 | 4.5 | $7.9M | −0.6% | #154 of 507 |
| 2Red Bluff, CA | 56 | 10 | 4.0 | $8.7M | −1.7% | #181 of 507 |
| 3Crescent City, CA | 56 | 5 | 5.3 | $6.8M | −4.4% | #182 of 507 |
| 4Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 51 | 39 | 9.1 | $4.7M | −0.4% | #244 of 507 |
| 5Bishop, CA | 32 | 8 | 10.0 | $3.8M | −4.4% | #432 of 507 |
| 6Ukiah, CA | 30 | 36 | 10.3 | $3.6M | −3.5% | #445 of 507 |
| 7Sonora, CA | 30 | 26 | 11.5 | $3.4M | −4.0% | #447 of 507 |
| 8Eureka-Arcata, CA | 28 | 51 | 9.3 | $3.8M | −3.4% | #460 of 507 |
Other business types in the Sonora area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes40
- Sit-down restaurants46
- Fast food and sandwich shops74
- Pizza63
- Coffee shops and cafes23
- Bakeries and dessert shops30
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 Sonora, CA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 bakeries and dessert shops in the Sonora area. 3 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 21 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, unchanged 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 4 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Sonora, CA area spend on food away from home?
About $88.8M a year, or $3,914 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 22,690 households in the Sonora area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sonora, CA area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Sonora area has 11.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Sonora area would have about 21, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,080 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Sonora, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Sonora area at 53,160 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,690 households. The median household income in the Sonora area is $77,404 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.8% 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 Sonora area scores 30 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #447 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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.