Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Muscatine, IA area
The bakeries and dessert shops in the Muscatine, IA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #81 of 507 scored small-town markets
#1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 10
- 2 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $63.5M
- On food away from home · $3,663 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.4M
- 53% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.8
- 41% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 41,853
- −3.0% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine area comes to about $63.5M a year: $3,663 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That is about $6.4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 53% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Muscatine area has 10 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 20%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 5.8 per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Muscatine area was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 2,891 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.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Muscatine area declined 3.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Muscatine area scores 66 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #81 of 507 scored small-town markets and #1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Muscatine 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 | Muscatine area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.8 | 8.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6.4M | $4.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 2,891 | 1,583 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +52.2% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,663 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $69,396 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 91
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 102 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 41,853−3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 17,345
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 437 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 97
- Median household income
- $69,396+18.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,373
- Median home value
- $182,100
- Jobs located here
- 21,008
- Daytime population
- 43,232Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes43
- Sit-down restaurants38
- Fast food and sandwich shops48
- Pizza24
- Coffee shops and cafes56
- Bakeries and dessert shops66
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 Muscatine, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 bakeries and dessert shops in the Muscatine area. 2 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 6 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.
How much do households in the Muscatine, IA area spend on food away from home?
About $63.5M a year, or $3,663 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6.4M 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 17,345 households in the Muscatine area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Muscatine, IA area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Muscatine area has 5.8 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6.4M, 53% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Muscatine area would have about 15, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,891 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Muscatine, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Muscatine area at 41,853 people in 2025, down 3.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,345 households. The median household income in the Muscatine area is $69,396 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.7% 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. 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 Muscatine area scores 66 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #81 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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.