Food and drink · County · Kentucky
Bakeries and dessert shops in Carter County, KY
How Carter County, KY compares with other counties and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #978 of 1,889 scored counties
#28 of 45 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $33.6M
- On food away from home · $3,110 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.7M
- 62% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.6
- 53% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 26,149
- −1.7% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Carter 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 Carter County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 bakeries and dessert shops in Carter County. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That is 4.6 per 10,000 households, 53% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
At $3,110 per household (24% below the U.S. average), households in Carter County spend about $33.6M a year on food away from home. Spread across 5 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $6.7M per shop, 62% above 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 Carter County: counts under 3 aren’t published.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Carter County declined 1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Carter County scores 48 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #978 of 1,889 scored counties and #28 of 45 scored counties in Kentucky.
How Carter 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.
| Measure | Carter County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.6 | 6.9 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6.7M | $5M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | n/a | 2,676 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +30.9% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.7% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,110 | $3,489 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $51,235 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 62 |
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
- 51 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The 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 Carter 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 Carter County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 26,149−1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 10,794
- Median age
- 41.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 410 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 64
- Median household income
- $51,235+47.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $69,045
- Median home value
- $132,800
- Jobs located here
- 6,014
- Daytime population
- 23,638Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Carter 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 Carter County. 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Carter County marked.
Top counties in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oldham County, KY | 88 | 11 | 4.8 | $10.5M | +4.9% | #26 of 1,889 |
| 2Bullitt County, KY | 88 | 14 | 4.4 | $8.8M | +5.0% | #27 of 1,889 |
| 3Nelson County, KY | 78 | 11 | 5.7 | $6.2M | +4.8% | #115 of 1,889 |
| 4Scott County, KY | 76 | 20 | 8.8 | $4.6M | +8.2% | #153 of 1,889 |
| 5Shelby County, KY | 75 | 12 | 6.5 | $6.1M | +6.2% | #169 of 1,889 |
| 6Madison County, KY | 75 | 24 | 6.5 | $5.4M | +9.4% | #172 of 1,889 |
| 7Grant County, KY | 73 | 5 | 5.4 | $6.3M | +4.7% | #201 of 1,889 |
| 8Jessamine County, KY | 71 | 11 | 5.5 | $6.9M | +7.8% | #234 of 1,889 |
| 9Meade County, KY | 71 | 7 | 6.4 | $5.9M | +2.2% | #243 of 1,889 |
| 10Kenton County, KY | 71 | 53 | 7.9 | $5.1M | +3.9% | #250 of 1,889 |
| 28Carter County, KY | 48 | 5 | 4.6 | $6.7M | −1.7% | #978 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Carter County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants54
- Fast food and sandwich shops30
- Pizza24
- Coffee shops and cafes
- 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 Carter County, KY?
There are 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Carter County as of September 2026. One of them (20%) 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 Carter County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Carter County, KY spend on food away from home?
About $33.6M a year, or $3,110 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6.7M 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 10,794 households in Carter County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Carter County, KY compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Carter County has 4.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 53% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6.7M, 62% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Carter County would have about 8, against 5 on map listings.
How fast is Carter County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Carter County at 26,149 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,794 households. Median household income in Carter County is $51,235, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 47.5%, 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. Carter County scores 48 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #978 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Carter 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 Carter County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Carter 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 Carter 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.