Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Minnesota

Bakeries and dessert shops in Steele County, MN

How Steele County, MN 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 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #481 of 1,889 scored counties
#32 of 45 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
13
4 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
6
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$61M
On food away from home · $4,033 a household
Spending per listing
$4.7M
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.6
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
37,464
+0.2% since 2020

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

At $4,033 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in Steele County spend about $61M a year on food away from home. Spread across 13 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.7M per shop, 13% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Steele County has 13 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (31%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.6 for every 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in Steele County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 2,523 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 list 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Steele County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, Steele County has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #481 of 1,889 scored counties and #32 of 45 scored counties in Minnesota.

How Steele County compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Steele County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureSteele CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.66.39.8
Spending per listing$4.7M$6.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,5231,8931,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+18.7%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.2%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,033$4,330$4,070
Median household income$84,196$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6280

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 6All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
119
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
134 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
37,464+0.2% since 2020
Households
15,138
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
430 sq. mi.
People per square mile
87
Median household income
$84,196+29.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,587
Median home value
$245,400
Jobs located here
18,785
Daytime population
38,229Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Steele 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 Steele 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

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

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wright County, MN93285.2$9M+11.1%#9 of 1,889
2Sherburne County, MN92133.7$12.7M+6.8%#10 of 1,889
3Scott County, MN89254.5$11.3M+5.1%#18 of 1,889
4Clay County, MN86114.2$9.6M+3.6%#34 of 1,889
5Chisago County, MN8573.3$13.7M+4.3%#41 of 1,889
6Washington County, MN85656.2$8.2M+6.9%#45 of 1,889
7Anoka County, MN83765.5$8.2M+4.7%#60 of 1,889
8Dakota County, MN821025.8$8.1M+3.9%#68 of 1,889
9Dodge County, MN8156.2$7M+2.3%#72 of 1,889
10Rice County, MN81146.0$6.8M+4.2%#74 of 1,889
32Steele County, MN62138.6$4.7M+0.2%#481 of 1,889

Other business types in Steele County

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Steele County, MN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 bakeries and dessert shops in Steele County. 4 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 6 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 also show 3 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Steele County, MN spend on food away from home?

About $61M a year, or $4,033 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 15,138 households in Steele County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Steele County has 8.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 12% 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 U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Steele County would have about 15, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,523 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is Steele County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Steele County at 37,464 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,138 households. The median household income in Steele County is $84,196 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.7% 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. Steele County scores 62 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #481 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Steele County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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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.