Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Bakeries and dessert shops in Bell County, KY

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in Bell County, KY, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,285 of 1,889 scored counties
#35 of 45 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
3
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$25.5M
On food away from home · $2,566 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.0
39% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
22,829
−4.8% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Bell 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 Bell County. 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 Bell County spend about $25.5M a year on food away from home, or $2,566 per household, 37% below the U.S. average. Spread across 6 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.3M per shop, 3% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Bell County has 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 6.0 for every 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in Bell County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 3,313 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.

Population estimates put the population change in Bell County from 2020 to 2025 at −4.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Bell County scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #1,285 of 1,889 scored counties and #35 of 45 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Bell County compares

The same measures for Kentucky 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 Bell County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureBell CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.06.99.8
Spending per listing$4.3M$5M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)3,3132,6761,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+30.9%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.8%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,566$3,489$4,070
Median household income$31,354$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score4062

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 3All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
11
Annual payroll, 2023
$117K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
61 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 Bell 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 Bell County

Population, 2025 estimate
22,829−4.8% since 2020
Households
9,939
Median age
40.5
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
359 sq. mi.
People per square mile
65
Median household income
$31,354+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$49,259
Median home value
$89,000
Jobs located here
7,622
Daytime population
23,467Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Bell 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 Bell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Bell County marked.

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Oldham County, KY88114.8$10.5M+4.9%#26 of 1,889
2Bullitt County, KY88144.4$8.8M+5.0%#27 of 1,889
3Nelson County, KY78115.7$6.2M+4.8%#115 of 1,889
4Scott County, KY76208.8$4.6M+8.2%#153 of 1,889
5Shelby County, KY75126.5$6.1M+6.2%#169 of 1,889
6Madison County, KY75246.5$5.4M+9.4%#172 of 1,889
7Grant County, KY7355.4$6.3M+4.7%#201 of 1,889
8Jessamine County, KY71115.5$6.9M+7.8%#234 of 1,889
9Meade County, KY7176.4$5.9M+2.2%#243 of 1,889
10Kenton County, KY71537.9$5.1M+3.9%#250 of 1,889
35Bell County, KY4066.0$4.3M−4.8%#1,285 of 1,889

Other business types in Bell County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Bell County, KY?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 bakeries and dessert shops in Bell County. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 3 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 Bell County, KY spend on food away from home?

About $25.5M a year, or $2,566 per household. That is 37% below the U.S. average (an index of 63, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.3M 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 9,939 households in Bell County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Bell County has 6.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.3M, 3% above 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. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,313 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is Bell County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Bell County at 22,829 people in 2025, down 4.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 9,939 households. The median household income in Bell County is $31,354 a year, 61% 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. 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. Bell County scores 40 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,285 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Bell 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 Bell 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.