Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Bakeries and dessert shops in Decatur County, IA

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

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
4
1 chain location (25%)
Official establishments
3
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$10M
On food away from home · $3,257 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
40% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.1
34% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,655
−0.9% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 4 bakeries and dessert shops in Decatur County. That comes to 13.1 for every 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in Decatur County spend about $10M a year on food away from home, or $3,257 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 40% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Decatur County in 2023. That is one for every 1,018 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too.

Population estimates put the population change in Decatur County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Decatur County compares

The same measures for Iowa 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 Decatur County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureDecatur CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.18.09.8
Spending per listing$2.5M$4.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,0181,5831,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+52.2%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,257$3,880$4,070
Median household income$59,044$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored53

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
9
Annual payroll, 2023
$156K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
41 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Decatur 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 Decatur County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,655−0.9% since 2020
Households
3,055
Median age
36.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
532 sq. mi.
People per square mile
15
Median household income
$59,044
Average household income
$74,390
Median home value
$113,900
Jobs located here
2,070
Daytime population
6,526Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Decatur 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 Decatur 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 Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

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

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, IA82115.3$8.2M+9.0%#67 of 1,889
2Dallas County, IA80327.5$6.3M+17.8%#89 of 1,889
3Jones County, IA7456.1$6.1M+2.9%#184 of 1,889
4Madison County, IA7457.5$5.6M+3.8%#190 of 1,889
5Buchanan County, IA6656.1$6.2M+1.3%#360 of 1,889
6Boone County, IA6354.6$8.8M+0.4%#433 of 1,889
7Muscatine County, IA63105.8$6.4M−3.0%#439 of 1,889
8Pottawattamie County, IA62277.2$5.3M−0.7%#469 of 1,889
9Polk County, IA611849.0$4.7M+4.8%#515 of 1,889
10Mahaska County, IA6055.7$6.3M−1.2%#531 of 1,889
Decatur County, IANot scored413.1$2.5M−0.9%

Other business types in Decatur County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Decatur County, IA?

There are 4 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Decatur County as of September 2026. 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. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops.

How much do households in Decatur County, IA spend on food away from home?

About $10M a year, or $3,257 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per shop. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,055 households in Decatur County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Decatur County has 13.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $2.5M, 40% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Decatur County would have about 2, against 4 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,018 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is Decatur County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Decatur County at 7,655 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,055 households. Median household income in Decatur County is $59,044, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Decatur 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 Decatur 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.