Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Kentucky

Bakeries and dessert shops in Jefferson County, KY

The bakeries and dessert shops in Jefferson County, KY, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #859 of 1,889 scored counties
#27 of 45 scored counties in Kentucky

Listings
292
108 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments
164
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +7.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.2B
On food away from home · $3,697 a household
Spending per listing
$4.2M
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.8
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
795,222
+1.6% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 292 bakeries and dessert shops in Jefferson County. Chain locations make up 37% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.8, 10% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Jefferson County comes to about $1.2B a year: $3,697 per household, 9% below the U.S. average. Spread across 292 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.2M per shop, in line with 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 164 businesses with payroll in Jefferson County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 7.9% from 2019. That is one for every 2,022 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Another 30 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 20 SBA-backed loans worth $6.3M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Jefferson County.

Population estimates put the population change in Jefferson County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Jefferson County is 52 (upper middle), #859 of 1,889 scored counties and #27 of 45 scored counties in Kentucky.

How Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureJefferson CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.86.99.8
Spending per listing$4.2M$5M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,0222,6761,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.9%+30.9%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,697$3,489$4,070
Median household income$69,866$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market score5262

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
152 → 164All snack bars and retail bakeries · +7.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,105
Annual payroll, 2023
$47.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
30All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
292108 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
296The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
20
Amount
$6.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County

Population, 2025 estimate
795,222+1.6% since 2020
Households
331,554
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
381 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2,056
Median household income
$69,866+23.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,869
Median home value
$248,400
Jobs located here
503,996
Daytime population
914,843Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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
27Jefferson County, KY522928.8$4.2M+1.6%#859 of 1,889

Other business types in Jefferson County

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

Questions

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

There are 292 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Jefferson County as of September 2026. 108 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 164 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 7.9% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts list 30 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Jefferson County, KY spend on food away from home?

About $1.2B a year, or $3,697 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 292 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.2M 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 331,554 households in Jefferson County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Jefferson County has 8.8 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.2M, in line with the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Jefferson County would have about 296, against 292 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,022 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Jefferson County, KY growing?

Population estimates put Jefferson County at 795,222 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 331,554 households. Median household income in Jefferson County is $69,866, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.5%, 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. Jefferson County scores 52 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #859 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.