Food and drink · County · Massachusetts
Bakeries and dessert shops in Essex County, MA
How Essex 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,192 of 1,889 scored counties
#7 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 396
- 138 chain locations (35%)
- Official establishments
- 313
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +10.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On food away from home · $4,622 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.7M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.6
- 29% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 826,653
- +2.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Essex 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 Essex 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 396 bakeries and dessert shops in Essex County. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 12.6 per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Household spending on food away from home in Essex County comes to about $1.4B a year: $4,622 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. That works out to $3.7M per shop, 12% 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 313 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Essex County in 2023, up 10.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,000 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. Official counts list 41 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $3M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Essex County.
Population estimates show Essex County grew 2.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Essex County scores 43 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #1,192 of 1,889 scored counties and #7 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts.
How Essex 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.
| Measure | Essex County | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.6 | 12.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.7M | $3.9M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,000 | 931 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +10.6% | +14.8% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,622 | $4,685 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $101,883 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 283 → 313All snack bars and retail bakeries · +10.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,716
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $96.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 41All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 396138 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 349The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Essex 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 826,653+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 313,147
- Median age
- 42.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 493 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,651
- Median household income
- $101,883+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $140,108
- Median home value
- $619,100
- Jobs located here
- 329,644
- Daytime population
- 736,954Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex 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 Essex 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Massachusetts for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Massachusetts, with Essex County marked.
Top counties in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Middlesex County, MA | 57 | 675 | 10.6 | $4.9M | +2.8% | #651 of 1,889 |
| 2Norfolk County, MA | 52 | 333 | 11.8 | $4.5M | +2.2% | #852 of 1,889 |
| 3Hampshire County, MA | 52 | 65 | 10.5 | $4M | +10.4% | #862 of 1,889 |
| 4Worcester County, MA | 51 | 367 | 10.9 | $4.1M | +3.7% | #902 of 1,889 |
| 5Hampden County, MA | 47 | 150 | 8.1 | $4.6M | +0.2% | #1,025 of 1,889 |
| 6Plymouth County, MA | 45 | 270 | 13.3 | $3.7M | +3.5% | #1,126 of 1,889 |
| 7Essex County, MA | 43 | 396 | 12.6 | $3.7M | +2.3% | #1,192 of 1,889 |
| 8Suffolk County, MA | 37 | 407 | 12.4 | $3.6M | +0.1% | #1,401 of 1,889 |
| 9Bristol County, MA | 37 | 313 | 13.4 | $3.1M | +2.9% | #1,414 of 1,889 |
| 10Nantucket County, MA | 34 | 17 | 32.4 | $1.7M | +3.6% | #1,522 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Essex County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes59
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops73
- Pizza57
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops43
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 Essex County, MA?
Essex County has 396 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 138 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 313 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 10.6% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts also show 41 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Essex County, MA spend on food away from home?
About $1.4B a year, or $4,622 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 396 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.7M 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 313,147 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, MA compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Essex County has 12.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.7M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Essex County would have about 349, against 396 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,000 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, MA growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 826,653 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 313,147 households. Median household income in Essex County is $101,883, 26% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.5%, 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. Essex County scores 43 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,192 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex 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 Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex 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 Essex 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.