Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Marshalltown, IA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Marshalltown, IA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #277 of 507 scored small-town markets
#9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 14
- 1 chain location (7%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $56.5M
- On food away from home · $3,647 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4M
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.0
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 39,890
- −0.5% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 14 bakeries and dessert shops in the Marshalltown area. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 9.0 for every 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Marshalltown area comes to about $56.5M a year: $3,647 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4M per shop, 3% 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.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Marshalltown area: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Population estimates show the Marshalltown area declined 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Marshalltown area is 48 (lower middle), #277 of 507 scored small-town markets and #9 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Marshalltown 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 | Marshalltown area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.0 | 8.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4M | $4.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | n/a | 1,583 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +52.2% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,647 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $73,315 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/aAll snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 141 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 14The 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 the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 39,890−0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,496
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 573 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 70
- Median household income
- $73,315+29.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,510
- Median home value
- $145,500
- Jobs located here
- 15,779
- Daytime population
- 36,753Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Marshalltown area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Marshalltown 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 small-town markets in Iowa for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Marshalltown area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Muscatine, IA | 66 | 10 | 5.8 | $6.4M | −3.0% | #81 of 507 |
| 2Oskaloosa, IA | 63 | 5 | 5.7 | $6.3M | −1.2% | #108 of 507 |
| 3Le Mars, IA | 60 | 9 | 8.7 | $4.6M | 0.0% | #147 of 507 |
| 4Storm Lake, IA | 59 | 6 | 8.0 | $4.8M | −1.7% | #159 of 507 |
| 5Fort Dodge, IA | 57 | 12 | 7.8 | $4.5M | −0.4% | #179 of 507 |
| 6Clinton, IA | 56 | 13 | 6.7 | $5.5M | −0.9% | #186 of 507 |
| 7Pella, IA | 55 | 12 | 9.0 | $4.4M | +2.3% | #204 of 507 |
| 8Fort Madison, IA | 52 | 8 | 5.6 | $6.1M | −3.6% | #229 of 507 |
| 9Marshalltown, IA | 48 | 14 | 9.0 | $4M | −0.5% | #277 of 507 |
| 10Ottumwa, IA | 44 | 11 | 7.9 | $4.4M | −0.3% | #313 of 507 |
Other business types in the Marshalltown area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes72
- Sit-down restaurants61
- Fast food and sandwich shops75
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes74
- Bakeries and dessert shops48
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 Marshalltown, IA area?
The Marshalltown area has 14 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. No official count is published for snack bars and retail bakeries in the Marshalltown area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Marshalltown, IA area spend on food away from home?
About $56.5M a year, or $3,647 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4M 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 15,496 households in the Marshalltown area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Marshalltown, IA area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Marshalltown area has 9.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending.
How fast is the Marshalltown, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Marshalltown area at 39,890 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,496 households. Median household income in the Marshalltown area is $73,315, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.9%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Marshalltown area scores 48 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #277 of 507 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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.