Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Florida

Bakeries and dessert shops in Sarasota County, FL

How Sarasota County, FL 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 64 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #431 of 1,889 scored counties
#28 of 53 scored counties in Florida

Listings
205
67 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
117
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +41.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$865.4M
On food away from home · $4,078 a household
Spending per listing
$4.2M
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.7
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
479,958
+10.0% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Sarasota 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 Sarasota 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 205 bakeries and dessert shops in Sarasota County. 67 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 9.7 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Sarasota County comes to about $865.4M a year: $4,078 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 205 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.2M per shop, 2% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 117 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Sarasota County in 2023, up 41.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,814 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. 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 17 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $4.8M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Sarasota County.

Population estimates show Sarasota County grew 10.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Sarasota County scores 64 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #431 of 1,889 scored counties and #28 of 53 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Sarasota County compares

The same measures for Florida 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 Sarasota County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureSarasota CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.79.99.8
Spending per listing$4.2M$3.9M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,8141,7431,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+41.0%+34.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.0%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,078$3,841$4,070
Median household income$83,416$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score6455

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
83 → 117All snack bars and retail bakeries · +41.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,511
Annual payroll, 2023
$28.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
17All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
20567 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
209The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
10
Amount
$4.8M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
479,958+10.0% since 2020
Households
212,204
Median age
54.6
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
556 sq. mi.
People per square mile
826
Median household income
$83,416+34.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$124,732
Median home value
$411,800
Jobs located here
194,397
Daytime population
481,661Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Sarasota 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 Sarasota 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 Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

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

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sumter County, FL91243.4$11M+21.1%#11 of 1,889
2Wakulla County, FL8764.7$8.1M+12.3%#30 of 1,889
3Flagler County, FL85295.5$7M+21.0%#49 of 1,889
4Santa Rosa County, FL85506.9$6.1M+11.7%#53 of 1,889
5Nassau County, FL81328.1$5.1M+17.4%#81 of 1,889
6Suwannee County, FL7753.1$10.3M+10.6%#122 of 1,889
7Lake County, FL771096.6$5.6M+18.1%#131 of 1,889
8Citrus County, FL76385.3$6.1M+11.1%#145 of 1,889
9Clay County, FL76607.2$5.6M+9.4%#148 of 1,889
10Charlotte County, FL76596.5$5.5M+15.5%#149 of 1,889
28Sarasota County, FL642059.7$4.2M+10.0%#431 of 1,889

Other business types in Sarasota County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Sarasota County, FL?

Sarasota County has 205 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 67 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 117 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 41.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts list 17 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Sarasota County, FL spend on food away from home?

About $865.4M a year, or $4,078 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 205 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.2M per shop. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 212,204 households in Sarasota County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Sarasota County has 9.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.2M, 2% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Sarasota County would have about 209, against 205 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,814 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 41.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Sarasota County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Sarasota County at 479,958 people in 2025, up 10.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 212,204 households. Median household income in Sarasota County is $83,416, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 34.0%, 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. Sarasota County scores 64 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #431 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Sarasota 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 Sarasota 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.