Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Bakeries and dessert shops in Kankakee County, IL

The bakeries and dessert shops in Kankakee County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #570 of 1,889 scored counties
#17 of 67 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
27
7 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
20
All snack bars and retail bakeries · −4.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$157.3M
On food away from home · $3,837 a household
Spending per listing
$5.8M
41% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
33% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
105,525
−1.7% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 27 bakeries and dessert shops in Kankakee County. 7 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.6, 33% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Kankakee County comes to about $157.3M a year: $3,837 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That is about $5.8M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 41% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Kankakee County was 20 in 2023, down 4.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,050 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 3 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Kankakee County declined 1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Kankakee County scores 59 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #570 of 1,889 scored counties and #17 of 67 scored counties in Illinois.

How Kankakee 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Kankakee County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureKankakee CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.69.99.8
Spending per listing$5.8M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,0501,6201,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−4.8%+23.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,837$4,215$4,070
Median household income$71,281$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5944

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
21 → 20All snack bars and retail bakeries · −4.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
225
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
277 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
38The 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 Kankakee 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 Kankakee County

Population, 2025 estimate
105,525−1.7% since 2020
Households
40,996
Median age
39.8
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
677 sq. mi.
People per square mile
158
Median household income
$71,281+21.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,302
Median home value
$192,600
Jobs located here
41,664
Daytime population
98,238Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Bakeries 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 Kankakee County marked.

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ogle County, IL76125.8$6.8M−0.7%#142 of 1,889
2Clinton County, IL7074.8$8.6M+0.6%#254 of 1,889
3McLean County, IL70395.6$7.3M+0.1%#256 of 1,889
4Livingston County, IL7085.5$6.9M−2.1%#258 of 1,889
5Grundy County, IL70188.7$5M+2.9%#272 of 1,889
6Kendall County, IL69429.3$5.2M+9.9%#299 of 1,889
7St. Clair County, IL68646.3$6.1M−2.5%#311 of 1,889
8Lee County, IL6775.2$7.1M−3.4%#326 of 1,889
9Monroe County, IL67128.7$5.3M−0.3%#338 of 1,889
10Jefferson County, IL6664.0$8.5M−2.3%#354 of 1,889
17Kankakee County, IL59276.6$5.8M−1.7%#570 of 1,889

Other business types in Kankakee County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Kankakee County, IL?

There are 27 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Kankakee County as of September 2026. 7 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, down 4.8% 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 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Kankakee County, IL spend on food away from home?

About $157.3M a year, or $3,837 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $5.8M 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 40,996 households in Kankakee County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Kankakee County has 6.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $5.8M, 41% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Kankakee County would have about 38, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,050 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Kankakee County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Kankakee County at 105,525 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 40,996 households. Median household income in Kankakee County is $71,281, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.0%, 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. Kankakee County scores 59 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #570 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kankakee 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 Kankakee 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.