Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Illinois

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Mount Vernon, IL area

How the Mount Vernon, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #57 of 507 scored small-town markets
#5 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
3
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$51.1M
On food away from home · $3,448 a household
Spending per listing
$8.5M
2.1 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.0
59% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,147
−2.3% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon 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 $3,448 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Mount Vernon area spend about $51.1M a year on food away from home. Spread across 6 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $8.5M per shop, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Mount Vernon area as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That is 4.0 per 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Mount Vernon area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 4,940 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Population estimates show the Mount Vernon area declined 2.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Mount Vernon area scores 70 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #57 of 507 scored small-town markets and #5 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureMount Vernon areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.09.99.8
Spending per listing$8.5M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)4,9401,6201,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+23.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,448$4,215$4,070
Median household income$63,118$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score7044

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
52
Annual payroll, 2023
$871K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
61 chain location
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 Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,147−2.3% since 2020
Households
14,820
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
571 sq. mi.
People per square mile
64
Median household income
$63,118+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,324
Median home value
$126,000
Jobs located here
20,339
Daytime population
40,708Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon 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

Other business types in the Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 bakeries and dessert shops in the Mount Vernon area. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too.

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

About $51.1M a year, or $3,448 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $8.5M 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 14,820 households in the Mount Vernon area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Mount Vernon area has 4.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $8.5M, 2.1 times the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Mount Vernon area would have about 12, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,940 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Mount Vernon, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Mount Vernon area at 36,147 people in 2025, down 2.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,820 households. The median household income in the Mount Vernon area is $63,118 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.5% 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 Mount Vernon area scores 70 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #57 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 Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon 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.