Food and drink · Metro area · Michigan
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Bay City, MI metro area
How the Bay City, MI metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #279 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan
- Listings
- 41
- 8 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 13
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $156.3M
- On food away from home · $3,466 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.1
- 7% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 102,123
- −1.6% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Bay City 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 Bay City 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Bay City metro area comes to about $156.3M a year: $3,466 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.8M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 8% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
There are 41 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Bay City metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 20%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 9.1 for every 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Bay City metro area was 13 in 2023. That is one for every 3,469 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 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $639K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Bay City metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Bay City metro area declined 1.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Bay City metro area is 40 (lower middle), #279 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.
How the Bay City metro area compares
The same measures for Michigan 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 | Bay City metro area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $4.3M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 3,469 | 2,015 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +16.5% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.6% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,466 | $3,875 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $61,763 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 13All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 117
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 418 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 38The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $639K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Bay City 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 Bay City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 102,123−1.6% since 2020
- Households
- 45,103
- Median age
- 45.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 442 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 233
- Median household income
- $61,763+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,153
- Median home value
- $152,200
- Jobs located here
- 31,089
- Daytime population
- 93,442Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bay City 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 Bay City 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 Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Michigan for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Bay City metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Monroe, MI | 77 | 38 | 6.0 | $6.6M | +0.7% | #10 of 387 |
| 2Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 62 | 398 | 9.0 | $4.5M | +2.8% | #101 of 387 |
| 3Flint, MI | 61 | 98 | 5.9 | $6M | −1.1% | #104 of 387 |
| 4Ann Arbor, MI | 60 | 134 | 8.9 | $5M | −0.4% | #115 of 387 |
| 5Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 60 | 89 | 8.3 | $4.7M | +0.8% | #117 of 387 |
| 6Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 59 | 1,529 | 8.6 | $4.7M | +0.1% | #130 of 387 |
| 7Midland, MI | 58 | 31 | 8.9 | $4.6M | +0.3% | #134 of 387 |
| 8Battle Creek, MI | 53 | 40 | 7.5 | $4.7M | −0.6% | #172 of 387 |
| 9Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 47 | 182 | 9.4 | $4.1M | +1.4% | #225 of 387 |
| 10Saginaw, MI | 46 | 62 | 8.0 | $4.4M | −1.1% | #234 of 387 |
| 12Bay City, MI | 40 | 41 | 9.1 | $3.8M | −1.6% | #279 of 387 |
Other business types in the Bay City metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes61
- Sit-down restaurants58
- Fast food and sandwich shops47
- Pizza50
- Coffee shops and cafes62
- Bakeries and dessert shops40
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 Bay City, MI metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 41 bakeries and dessert shops in the Bay City metro area. 8 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. 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 5 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bay City, MI metro area spend on food away from home?
About $156.3M a year, or $3,466 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 41 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 45,103 households in the Bay City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bay City, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Bay City metro area has 9.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.8M, 8% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Bay City metro area would have about 38, against 41 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,469 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Bay City, MI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Bay City metro area at 102,123 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 45,103 households. The median household income in the Bay City metro area is $61,763 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.5% 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. The Bay City metro area scores 40 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #279 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 Bay City 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 Bay City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bay City 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 Bay City 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.