Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Michigan

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Flint, MI metro area

The bakeries and dessert shops in the Flint, MI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #104 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan

Listings
98
18 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
69
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +25.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$591.6M
On food away from home · $3,536 a household
Spending per listing
$6M
46% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
40% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
401,093
−1.1% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Flint 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 Flint metro area. 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

Households in the Flint metro area spend about $591.6M a year on food away from home, or $3,536 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Spread across 98 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $6M per shop, 46% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 98 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Flint metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 18 are chain locations, or 18%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 5.9 for every 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 69 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Flint metro area in 2023, up 25.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,425 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 35 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $1M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Flint metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Flint metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Flint metro area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #104 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.

How the Flint 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Flint, MI metro area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureFlint metro areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.99.09.8
Spending per listing$6M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,4252,0151,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+25.5%+16.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.1%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,536$3,875$4,070
Median household income$62,281$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score6150

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
69All snack bars and retail bakeries · +25.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
834
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
35All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9818 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
143The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Flint 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 Flint metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
401,093−1.1% since 2020
Households
167,334
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
637 sq. mi.
People per square mile
633
Median household income
$62,281+28.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,062
Median home value
$182,400
Jobs located here
125,696
Daytime population
375,742Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Flint 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 Flint metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries 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 Flint metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Monroe, MI77386.0$6.6M+0.7%#10 of 387
2Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI623989.0$4.5M+2.8%#101 of 387
3Flint, MI61985.9$6M−1.1%#104 of 387
4Ann Arbor, MI601348.9$5M−0.4%#115 of 387
5Kalamazoo-Portage, MI60898.3$4.7M+0.8%#117 of 387
6Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI591,5298.6$4.7M+0.1%#130 of 387
7Midland, MI58318.9$4.6M+0.3%#134 of 387
8Battle Creek, MI53407.5$4.7M−0.6%#172 of 387
9Lansing-East Lansing, MI471829.4$4.1M+1.4%#225 of 387
10Saginaw, MI46628.0$4.4M−1.1%#234 of 387

Other business types in the Flint metro area

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Flint, MI metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 98 bakeries and dessert shops in the Flint metro area. 18 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 69 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 25.5% 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 35 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Flint, MI metro area spend on food away from home?

About $591.6M a year, or $3,536 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 98 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6M 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 167,334 households in the Flint metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Flint, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Flint metro area has 5.9 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6M, 46% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Flint metro area would have about 143, against 98 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,425 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 25.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the Flint, MI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Flint metro area at 401,093 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 167,334 households. The median household income in the Flint metro area is $62,281 a year, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.2% 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 Flint metro area scores 61 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #104 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 Flint 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 Flint metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Flint 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 Flint 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.