Food and drink · County · Maryland
Bakeries and dessert shops in Harford County, MD
How Harford 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #343 of 1,889 scored counties
#12 of 24 scored counties in Maryland
- Listings
- 96
- 53 chain locations (55%)
- Official establishments
- 51
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $480.4M
- On food away from home · $4,719 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5M
- 21% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.4
- 4% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 266,446
- +2.0% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Harford 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 Harford 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
Household spending on food away from home in Harford County comes to about $480.4M a year: $4,719 per household, 16% above the U.S. average. Spread across 96 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $5M per shop, 21% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Harford County has 96 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 55% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 9.4 per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 51 businesses with payroll in Harford County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,996 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. Official counts also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Harford County.
Population estimates show Harford County grew 2.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Harford County scores 67 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #343 of 1,889 scored counties and #12 of 24 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Harford 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.
| Measure | Harford County | Maryland | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $5M | $4.9M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,996 | 1,938 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +6.6% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.0% | +1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,719 | $4,604 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $112,265 | $103,678 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 73 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 51 → 51All snack bars and retail bakeries · 0.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 770
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $14.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 10All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 9653 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 116The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $1.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Harford 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 Harford County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 266,446+2.0% since 2020
- Households
- 101,795
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 437 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 603
- Median household income
- $112,265+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $133,186
- Median home value
- $386,400
- Jobs located here
- 87,506
- Daytime population
- 226,500Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Harford 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 Harford 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 Maryland
Every Maryland market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Maryland for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Maryland, with Harford County marked.
Top counties in Maryland
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Charles County, MD | 85 | 46 | 7.6 | $6.6M | +5.9% | #50 of 1,889 |
| 2Calvert County, MD | 83 | 26 | 7.8 | $6.8M | +1.7% | #62 of 1,889 |
| 3Cecil County, MD | 80 | 30 | 7.4 | $5.7M | +3.2% | #92 of 1,889 |
| 4Prince George’s County, MD | 78 | 231 | 6.6 | $6.8M | +0.5% | #110 of 1,889 |
| 5St. Mary’s County, MD | 77 | 28 | 6.6 | $7.5M | +2.4% | #126 of 1,889 |
| 6Queen Anne’s County, MD | 73 | 20 | 10.0 | $4.8M | +8.8% | #212 of 1,889 |
| 7Frederick County, MD | 72 | 118 | 11.3 | $4.5M | +11.0% | #227 of 1,889 |
| 8Dorchester County, MD | 71 | 7 | 5.2 | $6.7M | +3.4% | #236 of 1,889 |
| 9Montgomery County, MD | 69 | 331 | 8.5 | $6.2M | +1.3% | #288 of 1,889 |
| 10Carroll County, MD | 69 | 65 | 10.1 | $4.9M | +2.2% | #302 of 1,889 |
| 12Harford County, MD | 67 | 96 | 9.4 | $5M | +2.0% | #343 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Harford County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes78
- Sit-down restaurants82
- Fast food and sandwich shops74
- Pizza71
- Coffee shops and cafes79
- Bakeries and dessert shops67
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 Harford County, MD?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 96 bakeries and dessert shops in Harford County. 53 of them (55%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 51 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, unchanged 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. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Harford County, MD spend on food away from home?
About $480.4M a year, or $4,719 per household. That is 16% above the U.S. average (an index of 116, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 96 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $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 101,795 households in Harford County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Harford County, MD compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Harford County has 9.4 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $5M, 21% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Harford County would have about 116, against 96 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,996 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Harford County, MD growing?
Population estimates put Harford County at 266,446 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 101,795 households. The median household income in Harford County is $112,265 a year, 39% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.9% 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. Harford County scores 67 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #343 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Harford 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 Harford County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Harford 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 Harford 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.