Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Massachusetts

Bakeries and dessert shops in Berkshire County, MA

How Berkshire County, MA 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 29 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,652 of 1,889 scored counties
#13 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts

Listings
73
14 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
47
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +46.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$226M
On food away from home · $3,925 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.7
30% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
128,224
−1.2% since 2020

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

Berkshire County scores 29 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #1,652 of 1,889 scored counties and #13 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 73 bakeries and dessert shops in Berkshire County. Of those, 14 are chain locations, or 19%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 12.7 for every 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

At $3,925 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Berkshire County spend about $226M a year on food away from home. Spread across 73 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.1M per shop, 25% below 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 47 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Berkshire County in 2023, up 46.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,225 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, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $202K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Berkshire County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Berkshire County declined 1.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Berkshire County compares

The same measures for Massachusetts 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 Berkshire County, MA compared with Massachusetts and the U.S.
MeasureBerkshire CountyMassachusettsU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.712.09.8
Spending per listing$3.1M$3.9M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,2259311,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+46.9%+14.8%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.2%+2.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,925$4,685$4,070
Median household income$76,013$103,960$80,734
Groundwork market score2942

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
32 → 47All snack bars and retail bakeries · +46.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
481
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
8All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7314 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
55The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$202K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
128,224−1.2% since 2020
Households
57,585
Median age
47.3
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
927 sq. mi.
People per square mile
140
Median household income
$76,013+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$108,456
Median home value
$305,400
Jobs located here
55,400
Daytime population
126,538Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Berkshire 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 Berkshire 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 Massachusetts

Every Massachusetts market ranked →

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

Top counties in Massachusetts

Counties in Massachusetts ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Middlesex County, MA5767510.6$4.9M+2.8%#651 of 1,889
2Norfolk County, MA5233311.8$4.5M+2.2%#852 of 1,889
3Hampshire County, MA526510.5$4M+10.4%#862 of 1,889
4Worcester County, MA5136710.9$4.1M+3.7%#902 of 1,889
5Hampden County, MA471508.1$4.6M+0.2%#1,025 of 1,889
6Plymouth County, MA4527013.3$3.7M+3.5%#1,126 of 1,889
7Essex County, MA4339612.6$3.7M+2.3%#1,192 of 1,889
8Suffolk County, MA3740712.4$3.6M+0.1%#1,401 of 1,889
9Bristol County, MA3731313.4$3.1M+2.9%#1,414 of 1,889
10Nantucket County, MA341732.4$1.7M+3.6%#1,522 of 1,889
13Berkshire County, MA297312.7$3.1M−1.2%#1,652 of 1,889

Other business types in Berkshire County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Berkshire County, MA?

There are 73 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Berkshire County as of September 2026. 14 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 46.9% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 8 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Berkshire County, MA spend on food away from home?

About $226M a year, or $3,925 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 73 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 57,585 households in Berkshire County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Berkshire County has 12.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.1M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Berkshire County would have about 55, against 73 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,225 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 46.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Berkshire County, MA growing?

Population estimates put Berkshire County at 128,224 people in 2025, down 1.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 57,585 households. Median household income in Berkshire County is $76,013, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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. Berkshire County scores 29 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,652 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Berkshire 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 Berkshire 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.