Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Michigan

Bakeries and dessert shops in Kalamazoo County, MI

The bakeries and dessert shops in Kalamazoo County, MI, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #586 of 1,889 scored counties
#23 of 71 scored counties in Michigan

Listings
89
22 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
50
All snack bars and retail bakeries · −15.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$416.6M
On food away from home · $3,889 a household
Spending per listing
$4.7M
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.3
15% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
263,795
+0.8% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 89 bakeries and dessert shops in Kalamazoo County. Of those, 22 are chain locations, or 25%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.3 for every 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Household spending on food away from home in Kalamazoo County comes to about $416.6M a year: $3,889 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 89 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.7M per shop, 13% above 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 50 businesses with payroll in Kalamazoo County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, down 15.2% from 2019. That is one for every 2,142 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 also show 14 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Kalamazoo County.

Population estimates show Kalamazoo County grew 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Kalamazoo County is 59 (upper middle), #586 of 1,889 scored counties and #23 of 71 scored counties in Michigan.

How Kalamazoo County 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 Kalamazoo County, MI compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureKalamazoo CountyMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.39.09.8
Spending per listing$4.7M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,1422,0151,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−15.2%+16.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.8%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,889$3,875$4,070
Median household income$72,532$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score5950

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
59 → 50All snack bars and retail bakeries · −15.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
826
Annual payroll, 2023
$15.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
14All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8922 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
101The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$2.2M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
263,795+0.8% since 2020
Households
107,110
Median age
37.4
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
562 sq. mi.
People per square mile
467
Median household income
$72,532+28.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,205
Median home value
$241,800
Jobs located here
120,525
Daytime population
271,929Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Kalamazoo 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 Kalamazoo 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

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

Top counties in Michigan

Counties in Michigan ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Barry County, MI83104.1$9.6M+2.2%#58 of 1,889
2Cass County, MI7694.2$9M+0.2%#136 of 1,889
3Lapeer County, MI75205.7$6.8M+1.0%#164 of 1,889
4Monroe County, MI75386.0$6.6M+0.7%#165 of 1,889
5Allegan County, MI73347.5$5.4M+2.1%#208 of 1,889
6Clinton County, MI72227.0$6.1M+1.6%#218 of 1,889
7Ionia County, MI71125.1$7.2M−0.5%#231 of 1,889
8Branch County, MI70105.9$5.8M+2.5%#264 of 1,889
9St. Clair County, MI70446.5$5.8M+0.1%#265 of 1,889
10Ottawa County, MI69998.9$4.8M+3.9%#303 of 1,889
23Kalamazoo County, MI59898.3$4.7M+0.8%#586 of 1,889

Other business types in Kalamazoo County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Kalamazoo County, MI?

There are 89 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Kalamazoo County as of September 2026. 22 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, down 15.2% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 14 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Kalamazoo County, MI spend on food away from home?

About $416.6M a year, or $3,889 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 89 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 107,110 households in Kalamazoo County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Kalamazoo County has 8.3 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Kalamazoo County would have about 101, against 89 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,142 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count fell 15.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Kalamazoo County, MI growing?

Population estimates put Kalamazoo County at 263,795 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 107,110 households. Median household income in Kalamazoo County is $72,532, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.4%, 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. Kalamazoo County scores 59 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #586 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kalamazoo 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 Kalamazoo 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.