Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Canton, IL area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Canton, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #425 of 507 scored small-town markets
#18 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
12
3 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
10
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$47.5M
On food away from home · $3,442 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.7
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
32,901
−2.0% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Canton 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 Canton area. 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

For bakeries and dessert shops, the Canton area has a Groundwork market score of 33 (lower middle): #425 of 507 scored small-town markets and #18 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 bakeries and dessert shops in the Canton area. 3 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.7, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Household spending on food away from home in the Canton area comes to about $47.5M a year: $3,442 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4M per shop, 5% below 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 10 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Canton area in 2023. That is one for every 1,380 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. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Canton area declined 2.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Canton area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Canton, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCanton areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.79.99.8
Spending per listing$4M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,3801,6201,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+23.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,442$4,215$4,070
Median household income$60,599$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3344

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
97
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
123 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The 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 the Canton 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 Canton area

Population, 2025 estimate
32,901−2.0% since 2020
Households
13,795
Median age
44.1
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
866 sq. mi.
People per square mile
38
Median household income
$60,599
Average household income
$78,763
Median home value
$107,200
Jobs located here
8,322
Daytime population
27,980Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Canton area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rochelle, IL80125.8$6.8M−0.7%#14 of 507
2Pontiac, IL7485.5$6.9M−2.1%#33 of 507
3Dixon, IL7175.2$7.1M−3.4%#50 of 507
4Effingham, IL71126.6$5.9M−0.9%#52 of 507
5Mount Vernon, IL7064.0$8.5M−2.3%#57 of 507
6Charleston-Mattoon, IL65115.3$6.3M−1.0%#92 of 507
7Marion-Herrin, IL65186.2$5.8M+0.2%#96 of 507
8Taylorville, IL6185.9$5.9M−1.5%#130 of 507
9Danville, IL55155.0$6.7M−3.7%#197 of 507
10Centralia, IL5463.9$8.7M−3.4%#208 of 507
18Canton, IL33128.7$4M−2.0%#425 of 507

Other business types in the Canton area

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Canton, IL area?

There are 12 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Canton area as of September 2026. 3 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Canton, IL area spend on food away from home?

About $47.5M a year, or $3,442 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4M 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 13,795 households in the Canton area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Canton, IL area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Canton area has 8.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4M, 5% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,380 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Canton, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Canton area at 32,901 people in 2025, down 2.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,795 households. Median household income in the Canton area is $60,599, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Canton area scores 33 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #425 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 Canton 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 Canton area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Canton 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 Canton 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.