Food and drink · County · Indiana
Bakeries and dessert shops in Elkhart County, IN
How Elkhart County, IN 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,296 of 1,889 scored counties
#61 of 73 scored counties in Indiana
- Listings
- 71
- 21 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 48
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +41.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $265.8M
- On food away from home · $3,676 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 10% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.8
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 208,774
- +0.9% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Elkhart 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 Elkhart County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on food away from home in Elkhart County comes to about $265.8M a year: $3,676 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.7M per shop, 10% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Elkhart County has 71 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 21 are chain locations, or 30%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 9.8 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 9.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Elkhart County was 48 in 2023, up 41.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,506 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 also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $3.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Elkhart County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Elkhart County grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Elkhart County is 40 (lower middle), #1,296 of 1,889 scored counties and #61 of 73 scored counties in Indiana.
How Elkhart County compares
The same measures for Indiana 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.
| Measure | Elkhart County | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.8 | 8.4 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $4.5M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,506 | 1,893 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +41.2% | +41.5% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.9% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,676 | $3,802 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,561 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 34 → 48All snack bars and retail bakeries · +41.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 524
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7121 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 64The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $3.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Elkhart 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 Elkhart County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 208,774+0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 72,309
- Median age
- 36.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 463 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 447
- Median household income
- $68,561+20.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,471
- Median home value
- $210,400
- Jobs located here
- 133,676
- Daytime population
- 244,683Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Elkhart 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 Elkhart County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardBakeries and dessert shops across Indiana
Every Indiana market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Indiana for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Indiana, with Elkhart County marked.
Top counties in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hancock County, IN | 83 | 25 | 7.5 | $5.9M | +13.5% | #63 of 1,889 |
| 2Putnam County, IN | 82 | 6 | 4.2 | $8.9M | +3.2% | #66 of 1,889 |
| 3Morgan County, IN | 78 | 20 | 7.1 | $5.7M | +4.4% | #117 of 1,889 |
| 4Warrick County, IN | 78 | 20 | 7.9 | $5.4M | +4.4% | #119 of 1,889 |
| 5Dearborn County, IN | 76 | 10 | 4.9 | $8.1M | +1.7% | #139 of 1,889 |
| 6Franklin County, IN | 76 | 6 | 6.5 | $6M | +2.2% | #146 of 1,889 |
| 7Decatur County, IN | 75 | 5 | 4.7 | $8.1M | +0.4% | #156 of 1,889 |
| 8Ripley County, IN | 75 | 6 | 5.2 | $7.1M | +1.6% | #161 of 1,889 |
| 9Hamilton County, IN | 74 | 123 | 9.0 | $5.8M | +10.9% | #186 of 1,889 |
| 10Boone County, IN | 74 | 27 | 9.4 | $5.3M | +13.5% | #192 of 1,889 |
| 61Elkhart County, IN | 40 | 71 | 9.8 | $3.7M | +0.9% | #1,296 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Elkhart County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes47
- Sit-down restaurants49
- Fast food and sandwich shops42
- Pizza39
- Coffee shops and cafes51
- Bakeries and dessert shops40
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Elkhart County, IN?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 71 bakeries and dessert shops in Elkhart County. 21 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 48 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 41.2% 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. Another 13 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Elkhart County, IN spend on food away from home?
About $265.8M a year, or $3,676 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 71 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 72,309 households in Elkhart County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Elkhart County, IN compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Elkhart County has 9.8 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Elkhart County would have about 64, against 71 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,506 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 41.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Elkhart County, IN growing?
Population estimates put Elkhart County at 208,774 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,309 households. The median household income in Elkhart County is $68,561 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.2% 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. Elkhart County scores 40 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,296 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Elkhart 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 Elkhart County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Elkhart 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 Elkhart 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.