Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maryland

Bakeries and dessert shops in Dorchester County, MD

How Dorchester County, MD 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 71 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #236 of 1,889 scored counties
#8 of 24 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
7
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
5
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$47.1M
On food away from home · $3,474 a household
Spending per listing
$6.7M
62% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.2
47% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
33,628
+3.4% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 7 bakeries and dessert shops in Dorchester County. None of them are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 5.2 per 10,000 households, 47% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in Dorchester County spend about $47.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,474 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $6.7M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 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.

Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Dorchester County in 2023. That is one for every 2,709 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. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $145K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Dorchester County.

Population estimates put the population change in Dorchester County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, Dorchester County has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #236 of 1,889 scored counties and #8 of 24 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Dorchester County compares

The same measures for Maryland 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 Dorchester County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureDorchester CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.29.59.8
Spending per listing$6.7M$4.9M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,7091,9381,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.6%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.4%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,474$4,604$4,070
Median household income$61,839$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score7173

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
100
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
70 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$145K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
33,628+3.4% since 2020
Households
13,546
Median age
43.3
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
541 sq. mi.
People per square mile
61
Median household income
$61,839+16.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,771
Median home value
$262,400
Jobs located here
12,352
Daytime population
29,247Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dorchester 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 Dorchester 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 Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

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

Top counties in Maryland

Counties in Maryland ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charles County, MD85467.6$6.6M+5.9%#50 of 1,889
2Calvert County, MD83267.8$6.8M+1.7%#62 of 1,889
3Cecil County, MD80307.4$5.7M+3.2%#92 of 1,889
4Prince George’s County, MD782316.6$6.8M+0.5%#110 of 1,889
5St. Mary’s County, MD77286.6$7.5M+2.4%#126 of 1,889
6Queen Anne’s County, MD732010.0$4.8M+8.8%#212 of 1,889
7Frederick County, MD7211811.3$4.5M+11.0%#227 of 1,889
8Dorchester County, MD7175.2$6.7M+3.4%#236 of 1,889
9Montgomery County, MD693318.5$6.2M+1.3%#288 of 1,889
10Carroll County, MD696510.1$4.9M+2.2%#302 of 1,889

Other business types in Dorchester County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Dorchester County, MD?

Dorchester County has 7 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops.

How much do households in Dorchester County, MD spend on food away from home?

About $47.1M a year, or $3,474 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 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 13,546 households in Dorchester County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Dorchester County has 5.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 47% 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, Dorchester County would have about 11, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,709 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is Dorchester County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Dorchester County at 33,628 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,546 households. Median household income in Dorchester County is $61,839, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.9%, 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. Dorchester County scores 71 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #236 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dorchester 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 Dorchester 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.