Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Maryland

Bakeries and dessert shops in Frederick County, MD

How Frederick 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 72 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #227 of 1,889 scored counties
#7 of 24 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
118
47 chain locations (40%)
Official establishments
52
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +6.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$526.9M
On food away from home · $5,036 a household
Spending per listing
$4.5M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.3
15% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
302,883
+11.0% since 2020

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

At $5,036 per household (24% above the U.S. average), households in Frederick County spend about $526.9M a year on food away from home. Spread across 118 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.5M per shop, 8% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Frederick County has 118 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 40% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.3, 15% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 52 businesses with payroll in Frederick County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 6.1% from 2019. That is one for every 2,012 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. Another 13 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $3.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Frederick County.

Population estimates show Frederick County grew 11.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Frederick County is 72 (upper middle), #227 of 1,889 scored counties and #7 of 24 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Frederick 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 Frederick County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureFrederick CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.39.59.8
Spending per listing$4.5M$4.9M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,0121,9381,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+6.1%+6.6%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+11.0%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$5,036$4,604$4,070
Median household income$122,002$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score7273

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
49 → 52All snack bars and retail bakeries · +6.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
793
Annual payroll, 2023
$15.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
13All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
11847 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
127The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
12
Amount
$3.2M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
302,883+11.0% since 2020
Households
104,635
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
661 sq. mi.
People per square mile
434
Median household income
$122,002+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$148,311
Median home value
$464,600
Jobs located here
108,637
Daytime population
254,360Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Frederick 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 Frederick 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 Frederick 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 Frederick County

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

Questions

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 118 bakeries and dessert shops in Frederick County. 47 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 52 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 6.1% from 2019. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Official counts list 13 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $526.9M a year, or $5,036 per household. That is 24% above the U.S. average (an index of 124, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 118 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.5M 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 104,635 households in Frederick County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Frederick County has 11.3 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.5M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Frederick County would have about 127, against 118 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,012 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Frederick County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Frederick County at 302,883 people in 2025, up 11.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 104,635 households. The median household income in Frederick County is $122,002 a year, 51% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.8% 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. Frederick County scores 72 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #227 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Frederick 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 Frederick 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.