Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Freeport, IL area

The bakeries and dessert shops in the Freeport, IL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #325 of 507 scored small-town markets
#15 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
15
2 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$67.4M
On food away from home · $3,481 a household
Spending per listing
$4.5M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.7
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
43,220
−3.0% since 2020

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

At $3,481 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Freeport area spend about $67.4M a year on food away from home. That is about $4.5M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 8% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

The Freeport area has 15 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.7, 21% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for snack bars and retail bakeries in the Freeport area, since they leave out counts under 3.

Population estimates show the Freeport area declined 3.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For bakeries and dessert shops, the Freeport area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #325 of 507 scored small-town markets and #15 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.

How the Freeport 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 Freeport, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureFreeport areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.79.99.8
Spending per listing$4.5M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)n/a1,6201,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+23.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,481$4,215$4,070
Median household income$64,043$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score4344

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/aAll snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
152 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The 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 Freeport 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 Freeport area

Population, 2025 estimate
43,220−3.0% since 2020
Households
19,358
Median age
45.6
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
564 sq. mi.
People per square mile
78
Median household income
$64,043+31.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$79,920
Median home value
$134,900
Jobs located here
17,326
Daytime population
40,359Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Freeport 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 Freeport 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 Freeport 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
15Freeport, IL43157.7$4.5M−3.0%#325 of 507

Other business types in the Freeport 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 Freeport, IL area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 15 bakeries and dessert shops in the Freeport area. 2 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. No official count is published for snack bars and retail bakeries in the Freeport area: counts under 3 are left out.

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

About $67.4M a year, or $3,481 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.5M 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 19,358 households in the Freeport area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Freeport area has 7.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.5M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Freeport area would have about 16, against 15 on map listings.

How fast is the Freeport, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Freeport area at 43,220 people in 2025, down 3.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,358 households. The median household income in the Freeport area is $64,043 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.2% 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 Freeport area scores 43 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #325 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 Freeport 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 Freeport area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Freeport 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 Freeport 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.