Food and drink · County · Illinois
Bakeries and dessert shops in Cook County, IL
The bakeries and dessert shops in Cook County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,252 of 1,889 scored counties
#49 of 67 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 2,344
- 930 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 1,460
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +12.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $8.9B
- On food away from home · $4,255 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.2
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,194,625
- −1.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Cook 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 Cook 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 2,344 bakeries and dessert shops in Cook County. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 11.2 for every 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
At $4,255 per household (5% above the U.S. average), households in Cook County spend about $8.9B a year on food away from home. Spread across 2,344 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.8M per shop, 8% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 1,460 businesses with payroll in Cook County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 12.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,439 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 333 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 93 SBA-backed loans worth $39.8M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Cook County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cook County declined 1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Cook County is 41 (lower middle), #1,252 of 1,889 scored counties and #49 of 67 scored counties in Illinois.
How Cook County 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.
| Measure | Cook County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.2 | 9.9 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $4.3M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,439 | 1,620 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.4% | +23.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.3% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,255 | $4,215 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $83,498 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 44 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,299 → 1,460All snack bars and retail bakeries · +12.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 18,305
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $480.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 333All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2,344930 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2,157The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 93
- Amount
- $39.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Cook 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 Cook County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,194,625−1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 2,100,230
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 58%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.4
- Land area
- 945 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 5,484
- Median household income
- $83,498+29.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $120,729
- Median home value
- $324,500
- Jobs located here
- 2,683,238
- Daytime population
- 5,468,881Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Cook 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 Cook 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Cook County marked.
Top counties in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ogle County, IL | 76 | 12 | 5.8 | $6.8M | −0.7% | #142 of 1,889 |
| 2Clinton County, IL | 70 | 7 | 4.8 | $8.6M | +0.6% | #254 of 1,889 |
| 3McLean County, IL | 70 | 39 | 5.6 | $7.3M | +0.1% | #256 of 1,889 |
| 4Livingston County, IL | 70 | 8 | 5.5 | $6.9M | −2.1% | #258 of 1,889 |
| 5Grundy County, IL | 70 | 18 | 8.7 | $5M | +2.9% | #272 of 1,889 |
| 6Kendall County, IL | 69 | 42 | 9.3 | $5.2M | +9.9% | #299 of 1,889 |
| 7St. Clair County, IL | 68 | 64 | 6.3 | $6.1M | −2.5% | #311 of 1,889 |
| 8Lee County, IL | 67 | 7 | 5.2 | $7.1M | −3.4% | #326 of 1,889 |
| 9Monroe County, IL | 67 | 12 | 8.7 | $5.3M | −0.3% | #338 of 1,889 |
| 10Jefferson County, IL | 66 | 6 | 4.0 | $8.5M | −2.3% | #354 of 1,889 |
| 49Cook County, IL | 41 | 2,344 | 11.2 | $3.8M | −1.3% | #1,252 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Cook County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes39
- Sit-down restaurants37
- Fast food and sandwich shops50
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes46
- Bakeries and dessert shops41
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 Cook County, IL?
Cook County has 2,344 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 930 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 1,460 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 12.4% 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 333 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Cook County, IL spend on food away from home?
About $8.9B a year, or $4,255 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,344 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 2,100,230 households in Cook County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cook County, IL compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Cook County has 11.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.8M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Cook County would have about 2,157, against 2,344 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,439 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Cook County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Cook County at 5,194,625 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,100,230 households. Median household income in Cook County is $83,498, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.1%, 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. Cook County scores 41 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,252 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cook 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 Cook County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Cook 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 Cook 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.