Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Pella, IA area

How the Pella, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #204 of 507 scored small-town markets
#7 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
12
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
11
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$52.5M
On food away from home · $3,941 a household
Spending per listing
$4.4M
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.0
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
34,192
+2.3% since 2020

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

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

What this means

Households in the Pella area spend about $52.5M a year on food away from home, or $3,941 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 12 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.4M per shop, 6% 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 12 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Pella area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 9.0 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Pella area in 2023. That is one for every 1,211 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 Pella area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Pella area scores 55 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #204 of 507 scored small-town markets and #7 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Pella 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Pella, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasurePella areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.08.09.8
Spending per listing$4.4M$4.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,2111,5831,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+52.2%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,941$3,880$4,070
Median household income$78,680$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score5553

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
129
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
120 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
13The 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 Pella 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 Pella area

Population, 2025 estimate
34,192+2.3% since 2020
Households
13,316
Median age
40.1
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
555 sq. mi.
People per square mile
61
Median household income
$78,680+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,547
Median home value
$233,000
Jobs located here
19,073
Daytime population
36,093Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pella 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.

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Bakeries 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 Pella area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Muscatine, IA66105.8$6.4M−3.0%#81 of 507
2Oskaloosa, IA6355.7$6.3M−1.2%#108 of 507
3Le Mars, IA6098.7$4.6M0.0%#147 of 507
4Storm Lake, IA5968.0$4.8M−1.7%#159 of 507
5Fort Dodge, IA57127.8$4.5M−0.4%#179 of 507
6Clinton, IA56136.7$5.5M−0.9%#186 of 507
7Pella, IA55129.0$4.4M+2.3%#204 of 507
8Fort Madison, IA5285.6$6.1M−3.6%#229 of 507
9Marshalltown, IA48149.0$4M−0.5%#277 of 507
10Ottumwa, IA44117.9$4.4M−0.3%#313 of 507

Other business types in the Pella area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Pella, IA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 12 bakeries and dessert shops in the Pella area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 11 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 Pella, IA area spend on food away from home?

About $52.5M a year, or $3,941 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.4M 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 13,316 households in the Pella area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Pella 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 $4.4M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Pella area would have about 13, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,211 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Pella, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Pella area at 34,192 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,316 households. The median household income in the Pella area is $78,680 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.9% 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 Pella area scores 55 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #204 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 Pella 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 Pella area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pella area?

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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.