Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Illinois

Bakeries and dessert shops in Will County, IL

How Will 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #659 of 1,889 scored counties
#25 of 67 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
259
135 chain locations (52%)
Official establishments
171
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +42.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.2B
On food away from home · $4,802 a household
Spending per listing
$4.5M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.6
8% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
712,253
+2.2% since 2020

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

Households in Will County spend about $1.2B a year on food away from home, or $4,802 per household, 18% above the U.S. average. Spread across 259 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.5M per shop, 9% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Will County has 259 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 52% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 10.6 per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Will County was 171 in 2023, up 42.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,428 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. Official counts list 28 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 14 SBA-backed loans worth $4.7M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Will County.

Population estimates put the population change in Will County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Will County scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #659 of 1,889 scored counties and #25 of 67 scored counties in Illinois.

How Will 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 Will County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureWill CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.69.99.8
Spending per listing$4.5M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,4281,6201,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+42.5%+23.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,802$4,215$4,070
Median household income$109,984$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5744

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
120 → 171All snack bars and retail bakeries · +42.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,324
Annual payroll, 2023
$43.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
28All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
259135 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
283The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
14
Amount
$4.7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Will 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 Will County

Population, 2025 estimate
712,253+2.2% since 2020
Households
244,273
Median age
39.7
Homes lived in by their owners
83%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
836 sq. mi.
People per square mile
839
Median household income
$109,984+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$134,183
Median home value
$319,600
Jobs located here
272,349
Daytime population
615,002Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Will 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 Will 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 Will 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
25Will County, IL5725910.6$4.5M+2.2%#659 of 1,889

Other business types in Will County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 259 bakeries and dessert shops in Will County. 135 of them (52%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 171 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 42.5% from 2019. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Official counts also show 28 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.2B a year, or $4,802 per household. That is 18% above the U.S. average (an index of 118, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 259 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 244,273 households in Will County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Will County has 10.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.5M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Will County would have about 283, against 259 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,428 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 42.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Will County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Will County at 712,253 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 244,273 households. The median household income in Will County is $109,984 a year, 36% above 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. 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. Will County scores 57 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #659 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Will 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 Will 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.