Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Bakeries and dessert shops in Shelby County, IL

How Shelby County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #879 of 1,889 scored counties
#34 of 67 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
6
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$32.2M
On food away from home · $3,609 a household
Spending per listing
$5.4M
29% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.7
32% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,576
−1.6% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Shelby 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 Shelby County. 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 $3,609 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in Shelby County spend about $32.2M a year on food away from home. That works out to $5.4M per shop, 29% above 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 Shelby County as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 6.7 per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for snack bars and retail bakeries in Shelby County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Shelby County declined 1.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For bakeries and dessert shops, Shelby County has a Groundwork market score of 51 (upper middle): #879 of 1,889 scored counties and #34 of 67 scored counties in Illinois.

How Shelby 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 Shelby County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.79.99.8
Spending per listing$5.4M$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, 2020–2025−1.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,609$4,215$4,070
Median household income$72,095$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5144

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
3All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
60 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
20,576−1.6% since 2020
Households
8,918
Median age
45.3
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
759 sq. mi.
People per square mile
27
Median household income
$72,095+36.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,841
Median home value
$137,100
Jobs located here
4,879
Daytime population
15,659Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby 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 Shelby County. 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 counties in Illinois for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Shelby 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
34Shelby County, IL5166.7$5.4M−1.6%#879 of 1,889

Other business types in Shelby County

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

Questions

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 bakeries and dessert shops in Shelby County. None of them 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 Shelby County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $32.2M a year, or $3,609 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $5.4M 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 8,918 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shelby County has 6.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $5.4M, 29% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Shelby County would have about 8, against 6 on map listings.

How fast is Shelby County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 20,576 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,918 households. The median household income in Shelby County is $72,095 a year, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.2% 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. 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. Shelby County scores 51 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #879 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby 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 Shelby 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.