Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Bakeries and dessert shops in Delaware County, IA

The bakeries and dessert shops in Delaware County, IA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #739 of 1,889 scored counties
#14 of 47 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
6
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
4
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$28M
On food away from home · $3,798 a household
Spending per listing
$4.7M
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.1
17% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
17,674
+1.3% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Delaware 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 Delaware County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 bakeries and dessert shops in Delaware County. None of them are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.1, 17% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Delaware County comes to about $28M a year: $3,798 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 6 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.7M per shop, 13% above 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Delaware County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 1,842 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.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Delaware County grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Delaware County is 55 (upper middle), #739 of 1,889 scored counties and #14 of 47 scored counties in Iowa.

How Delaware 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 Delaware County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureDelaware CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.18.09.8
Spending per listing$4.7M$4.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,8421,5831,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+52.2%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,798$3,880$4,070
Median household income$74,989$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score5553

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
49
Annual payroll, 2023
$558K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
60 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
7The 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 Delaware 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 Delaware County

Population, 2025 estimate
17,674+1.3% since 2020
Households
7,369
Median age
44.7
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
578 sq. mi.
People per square mile
30
Median household income
$74,989+17.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,512
Median home value
$177,900
Jobs located here
6,550
Daytime population
15,660Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Delaware 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 Delaware County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Delaware 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
14Delaware County, IA5568.1$4.7M+1.3%#739 of 1,889

Other business types in Delaware County

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

Questions

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

Delaware County has 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 4 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 Delaware County, IA spend on food away from home?

About $28M a year, or $3,798 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 7,369 households in Delaware County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Delaware County has 8.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Delaware County would have about 7, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,842 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is Delaware County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Delaware County at 17,674 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,369 households. Median household income in Delaware County is $74,989, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 17.6%, 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. Delaware County scores 55 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #739 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Delaware 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 Delaware 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.