Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Colorado

Bakeries and dessert shops in Arapahoe County, CO

How Arapahoe County, CO 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #385 of 1,889 scored counties
#8 of 32 scored counties in Colorado

Listings
194
86 chain locations (44%)
Official establishments
204
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +36.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.2B
On food away from home · $4,570 a household
Spending per listing
$6.1M
46% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.5
23% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
673,820
+2.8% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Arapahoe 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 Arapahoe County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $4,570 per household (12% above the U.S. average), households in Arapahoe County spend about $1.2B a year on food away from home. That is about $6.1M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 46% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Arapahoe County has 194 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 86 of them (44%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 7.5 per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 204 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Arapahoe County in 2023, up 36.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,261 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 35 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 11 SBA-backed loans worth $4.1M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Arapahoe County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Arapahoe County grew 2.8%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Arapahoe County is 65 (upper middle), #385 of 1,889 scored counties and #8 of 32 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Arapahoe County compares

The same measures for Colorado 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Arapahoe County, CO compared with Colorado and the U.S.
MeasureArapahoe CountyColoradoU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.58.69.8
Spending per listing$6.1M$5.1M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,2611,2491,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+36.9%+23.7%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.8%+3.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,570$4,421$4,070
Median household income$101,087$95,470$80,734
Groundwork market score6568

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
149 → 204All snack bars and retail bakeries · +36.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,491
Annual payroll, 2023
$56.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
35All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
19486 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
284The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
11
Amount
$4.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Arapahoe 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 Arapahoe County

Population, 2025 estimate
673,820+2.8% since 2020
Households
257,232
Median age
38.7
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
798 sq. mi.
People per square mile
827
Median household income
$101,087+30.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$136,289
Median home value
$561,200
Jobs located here
352,398
Daytime population
677,507Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Arapahoe 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 Arapahoe County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Colorado

Every Colorado market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Colorado for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Colorado, with Arapahoe County marked.

Top counties in Colorado

Counties in Colorado ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Park County, CO8955.6$8M+5.1%#22 of 1,889
2Broomfield County, CO80144.4$11.6M+6.3%#82 of 1,889
3Weld County, CO79655.2$8.3M+14.2%#97 of 1,889
4Douglas County, CO78966.9$8.2M+10.9%#106 of 1,889
5Adams County, CO701548.2$5.3M+6.6%#270 of 1,889
6Morgan County, CO6865.4$6.4M+4.2%#308 of 1,889
7Teller County, CO6554.2$9.6M0.0%#380 of 1,889
8Arapahoe County, CO651947.5$6.1M+2.8%#385 of 1,889
9El Paso County, CO652137.3$5.8M+3.2%#386 of 1,889
10Jefferson County, CO621697.0$6.8M−0.5%#460 of 1,889

Other business types in Arapahoe County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Arapahoe County, CO?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 194 bakeries and dessert shops in Arapahoe County. 86 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 204 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 36.9% 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 35 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Arapahoe County, CO spend on food away from home?

About $1.2B a year, or $4,570 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 194 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6.1M 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 257,232 households in Arapahoe County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Arapahoe County, CO compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

Arapahoe County has 7.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 23% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6.1M, 46% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Arapahoe County would have about 284, against 194 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,261 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 36.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Arapahoe County, CO growing?

Population estimates put Arapahoe County at 673,820 people in 2025, up 2.8% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 257,232 households. The median household income in Arapahoe County is $101,087 a year, 25% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 30.5% 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. Arapahoe County scores 65 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #385 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Arapahoe 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 Arapahoe County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Arapahoe 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 Arapahoe 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.