Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Kansas

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Hays, KS area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Hays, KS area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #353 of 507 scored small-town markets
#6 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Kansas

Listings
13
5 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
6
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$43M
On food away from home · $3,507 a household
Spending per listing
$3.3M
20% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.6
8% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,075
+0.4% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in the Hays area comes to about $43M a year: $3,507 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.3M per shop, 20% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 13 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Hays area as of September 2026. 5 of them (38%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.6, 8% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Hays area in 2023. That is one for every 2,042 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.4M has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Hays area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Hays area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Hays area scores 41 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #353 of 507 scored small-town markets and #6 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Kansas.

How the Hays area compares

The same measures for Kansas 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 Hays, KS area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureHays areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.68.79.8
Spending per listing$3.3M$4.5M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,0421,6561,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+43.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,507$3,910$4,070
Median household income$63,084$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score4149

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
66
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
135 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
10The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Hays 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 Hays area

Population, 2025 estimate
29,075+0.4% since 2020
Households
12,251
Median age
36.5
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
900 sq. mi.
People per square mile
32
Median household income
$63,084+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,365
Median home value
$216,300
Jobs located here
15,340
Daytime population
30,752Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Hays 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 Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Hays area marked.

Top small-town markets in Kansas

Small-town markets in Kansas ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Arkansas City-Winfield, KS6564.5$7.5M−0.4%#90 of 507
2Ottawa, KS58109.6$3.9M+1.1%#177 of 507
3Salina, KS52197.6$4.7M−1.4%#231 of 507
4McPherson, KS45129.9$3.9M−0.4%#303 of 507
5Hutchinson, KS42228.6$3.9M−0.6%#331 of 507
6Hays, KS411310.6$3.3M+0.4%#353 of 507
7Atchison, KS4058.7$3.9M−0.9%#356 of 507
8Pittsburg, KS371610.1$3.2M+0.1%#394 of 507
9Great Bend, KS301110.6$3.2M−2.5%#449 of 507
10Emporia, KS271711.6$2.8M+0.4%#464 of 507

Other business types in the Hays 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 Hays, KS area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 13 bakeries and dessert shops in the Hays area. 5 of them (38%) 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 Hays, KS area spend on food away from home?

About $43M a year, or $3,507 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.3M 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 12,251 households in the Hays area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Hays area has 10.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.3M, 20% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Hays area would have about 10, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,042 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Hays, KS area growing?

Population estimates put the Hays area at 29,075 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,251 households. The median household income in the Hays area is $63,084 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.3% 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 Hays area scores 41 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #353 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 Hays 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 Hays area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hays 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.