Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Indiana

Bakeries and dessert shops in St. Joseph County, IN

How St. Joseph 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 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,218 of 1,889 scored counties
#56 of 73 scored counties in Indiana

Listings
100
31 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
64
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +60.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$394.7M
On food away from home · $3,680 a household
Spending per listing
$3.9M
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.3
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
272,861
+0.1% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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

Household spending on food away from home in St. Joseph County comes to about $394.7M a year: $3,680 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. Spread across 100 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.9M per shop, 5% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

St. Joseph County has 100 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 31% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.3, 5% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in St. Joseph County in 2023, up 60.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,676 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 5 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in St. Joseph County.

Population estimates put the population change in St. Joseph County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). St. Joseph County scores 42 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #1,218 of 1,889 scored counties and #56 of 73 scored counties in Indiana.

How St. Joseph 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in St. Joseph County, IN compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Joseph CountyIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.38.49.8
Spending per listing$3.9M$4.5M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,6761,8931,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+60.0%+41.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,680$3,802$4,070
Median household income$66,868$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score4255

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
40 → 64All snack bars and retail bakeries · +60.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
867
Annual payroll, 2023
$14.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
5All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10031 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
95The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$2.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph County

Population, 2025 estimate
272,861+0.1% since 2020
Households
107,252
Median age
38.0
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
458 sq. mi.
People per square mile
596
Median household income
$66,868+26.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,212
Median home value
$192,800
Jobs located here
124,747
Daytime population
277,571Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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 Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Indiana for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Indiana, with St. Joseph County marked.

Top counties in Indiana

Counties in Indiana ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hancock County, IN83257.5$5.9M+13.5%#63 of 1,889
2Putnam County, IN8264.2$8.9M+3.2%#66 of 1,889
3Morgan County, IN78207.1$5.7M+4.4%#117 of 1,889
4Warrick County, IN78207.9$5.4M+4.4%#119 of 1,889
5Dearborn County, IN76104.9$8.1M+1.7%#139 of 1,889
6Franklin County, IN7666.5$6M+2.2%#146 of 1,889
7Decatur County, IN7554.7$8.1M+0.4%#156 of 1,889
8Ripley County, IN7565.2$7.1M+1.6%#161 of 1,889
9Hamilton County, IN741239.0$5.8M+10.9%#186 of 1,889
10Boone County, IN74279.4$5.3M+13.5%#192 of 1,889
56St. Joseph County, IN421009.3$3.9M+0.1%#1,218 of 1,889

Other business types in St. Joseph County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in St. Joseph County, IN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 100 bakeries and dessert shops in St. Joseph County. 31 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 60.0% 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 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in St. Joseph County, IN spend on food away from home?

About $394.7M a year, or $3,680 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 100 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.9M 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 107,252 households in St. Joseph County and national spending patterns by income.

How does St. Joseph County, IN compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

St. Joseph County has 9.3 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.9M, 5% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, St. Joseph County would have about 95, against 100 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,676 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 60.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is St. Joseph County, IN growing?

Population estimates put St. Joseph County at 272,861 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 107,252 households. The median household income in St. Joseph County is $66,868 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.7% 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. St. Joseph County scores 42 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,218 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph County

Screening a site or an acquisition in St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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.