Food and drink · Metro area · Iowa
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Dubuque, IA metro area
The bakeries and dessert shops in the Dubuque, IA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #195 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 33
- 10 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 31
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $160.8M
- On food away from home · $3,924 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.9M
- 18% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.1
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 99,381
- +0.1% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Dubuque metro area
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 the Dubuque metro area. 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 the Dubuque metro area comes to about $160.8M a year: $3,924 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.9M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 18% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
There are 33 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Dubuque metro area as of September 2026. 10 of them (30%) 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 31 businesses with payroll in the Dubuque metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 1,322 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 10 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $265K has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Dubuque metro area.
Population estimates show the Dubuque metro area grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, the Dubuque metro area has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #195 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Dubuque metro area 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.
| Measure | Dubuque metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.1 | 8.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.9M | $4.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,322 | 1,583 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +52.2% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,924 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $77,630 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 31All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 348
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3310 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 39The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $265K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Dubuque metro area, 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 the Dubuque metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 99,381+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 40,989
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 608 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 163
- Median household income
- $77,630+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $100,177
- Median home value
- $237,300
- Jobs located here
- 58,941
- Daytime population
- 105,695Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dubuque metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 the Dubuque metro area. 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dubuque metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 71 | 304 | 7.8 | $5.4M | +4.2% | #31 of 387 |
| 1Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 70 | 249 | 8.4 | $5M | +6.7% | #41 of 387 |
| 2Ames, IA | 61 | 29 | 5.8 | $6.7M | +2.2% | #103 of 387 |
| 3Cedar Rapids, IA | 57 | 90 | 7.9 | $5M | +1.0% | #139 of 387 |
| 4Dubuque, IA | 50 | 33 | 8.1 | $4.9M | +0.1% | #195 of 387 |
| 5Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 48 | 46 | 8.3 | $4.6M | +1.0% | #210 of 387 |
| 6Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 47 | 131 | 8.1 | $4.7M | −0.9% | #221 of 387 |
| 7Iowa City, IA | 44 | 79 | 10.9 | $3.7M | +4.1% | #253 of 387 |
| 8Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 43 | 60 | 8.6 | $4.3M | +0.5% | #258 of 387 |
Other business types in the Dubuque metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes49
- Sit-down restaurants58
- Fast food and sandwich shops56
- Pizza46
- Coffee shops and cafes31
- Bakeries and dessert shops50
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 the Dubuque, IA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 33 bakeries and dessert shops in the Dubuque metro area. 10 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 31 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. 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 10 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Dubuque, IA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $160.8M a year, or $3,924 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.9M 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 40,989 households in the Dubuque metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dubuque, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Dubuque metro area has 8.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.9M, 18% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Dubuque metro area would have about 39, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,322 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Dubuque, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dubuque metro area at 99,381 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 40,989 households. The median household income in the Dubuque metro area is $77,630 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. The Dubuque metro area scores 50 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #195 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Dubuque metro area. 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 the Dubuque metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dubuque metro area?
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 the Dubuque metro area. 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.