Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Iowa

Bakeries and dessert shops in Hamilton County, IA

How Hamilton 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

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.

Listings
4
1 chain location (25%)
Official establishments
4
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$24.2M
On food away from home · $3,765 a household
Spending per listing
$6.1M
46% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.2
37% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
14,944
−0.5% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 4 bakeries and dessert shops in Hamilton County. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.2, 37% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in Hamilton County spend about $24.2M a year on food away from home, or $3,765 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $6.1M per shop, 46% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Hamilton County was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 1,609 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 Hamilton County declined 0.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, Hamilton County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureHamilton CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.28.09.8
Spending per listing$6.1M$4.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,6091,5831,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+52.2%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,765$3,880$4,070
Median household income$72,432$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored53

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
33
Annual payroll, 2023
$439K
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
6The 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County

Population, 2025 estimate
14,944−0.5% since 2020
Households
6,434
Median age
43.1
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
577 sq. mi.
People per square mile
26
Median household income
$72,432+18.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$92,073
Median home value
$156,400
Jobs located here
5,890
Daytime population
13,997Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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
Hamilton County, IANot scored46.2$6.1M−0.5%

Other business types in Hamilton County

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

Questions

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

There are 4 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Hamilton County as of September 2026. 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 Hamilton County, IA spend on food away from home?

About $24.2M a year, or $3,765 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6.1M 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 6,434 households in Hamilton County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Hamilton County has 6.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6.1M, 46% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Hamilton County would have about 6, against 4 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,609 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is Hamilton County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Hamilton County at 14,944 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,434 households. Median household income in Hamilton County is $72,432, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 18.9%, 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. Hamilton County has no market score for bakeries and dessert shops: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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.