Food and drink · Metro area · Massachusetts
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Worcester, MA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Worcester, MA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #204 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 367
- 163 chain locations (44%)
- Official establishments
- 286
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +18.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.5B
- On food away from home · $4,437 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.1M
- 2% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.9
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 888,502
- +3.7% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Worcester metro area
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 the Worcester metro area. 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
Households in the Worcester metro area spend about $1.5B a year on food away from home, or $4,437 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. Spread across 367 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.1M per shop, 2% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Worcester metro area has 367 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 163 are chain locations, or 44%, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.9, 11% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 286 businesses with payroll in the Worcester metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 18.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,174 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 50 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 15 SBA-backed loans worth $4.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Worcester metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Worcester metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, the Worcester metro area has a Groundwork market score of 49 (lower middle): #204 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts.
How the Worcester metro area 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 | Worcester metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.9 | 12.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.1M | $3.9M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,174 | 931 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +18.7% | +14.8% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.7% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,437 | $4,685 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $95,939 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 286All snack bars and retail bakeries · +18.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,190
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $80.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 50All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 367163 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 360The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 15
- Amount
- $4.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Worcester metro area, 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 the Worcester metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 888,502+3.7% since 2020
- Households
- 335,826
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,511 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 574
- Median household income
- $95,939
- Average household income
- $124,653
- Median home value
- $423,700
- Jobs located here
- 355,505
- Daytime population
- 797,239Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Worcester metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 the Worcester metro area. 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 metro areas in Massachusetts for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Worcester metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Worcester, MA | 49 | 367 | 10.9 | $4.1M | +3.7% | #204 of 387 |
| 2Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 49 | 65 | 10.5 | $4M | +10.4% | #205 of 387 |
| 3Springfield, MA | 45 | 150 | 8.1 | $4.6M | +0.2% | #240 of 387 |
| 4Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 45 | 2,342 | 12.1 | $4.1M | +2.3% | #245 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 31 | 889 | 13.2 | $3.2M | +2.1% | #335 of 387 |
| 5Barnstable Town, MA | 29 | 219 | 20.7 | $2.2M | +2.4% | #354 of 387 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 25 | 73 | 12.7 | $3.1M | −1.2% | #369 of 387 |
Other business types in the Worcester metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes78
- Sit-down restaurants76
- Fast food and sandwich shops84
- Pizza57
- Coffee shops and cafes67
- Bakeries and dessert shops49
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 the Worcester, MA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 367 bakeries and dessert shops in the Worcester metro area. 163 of them (44%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 286 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 18.7% 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 50 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Worcester, MA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $1.5B a year, or $4,437 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 367 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.1M 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 335,826 households in the Worcester metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Worcester, MA metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Worcester metro area has 10.9 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.1M, 2% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Worcester metro area would have about 360, against 367 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,174 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 18.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Worcester, MA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Worcester metro area at 888,502 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,826 households. The median household income in the Worcester metro area is $95,939 a year, 19% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The Worcester metro area scores 49 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #204 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Worcester metro area. 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 the Worcester metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Worcester metro area?
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 the Worcester metro area. 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.