Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Mississippi

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Laurel, MS area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Laurel, MS area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 26 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #467 of 507 scored small-town markets
#12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi

Listings
26
7 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
23
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$99.1M
On food away from home · $3,137 a household
Spending per listing
$3.8M
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.2
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
82,281
−1.5% since 2020

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

For bakeries and dessert shops, the Laurel area has a Groundwork market score of 26 (lower middle): #467 of 507 scored small-town markets and #12 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 bakeries and dessert shops in the Laurel area. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 27%, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.2, 16% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in the Laurel area spend about $99.1M a year on food away from home, or $3,137 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. Spread across 26 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.8M per shop, 8% below 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 23 businesses with payroll in the Laurel area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 1,374 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. Population estimates put the population change in the Laurel area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Laurel area compares

The same measures for Mississippi 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 Laurel, MS area compared with Mississippi and the U.S.
MeasureLaurel areaMississippiU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.28.49.8
Spending per listing$3.8M$3.9M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,3741,7331,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+60.8%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.5%−0.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,137$3,288$4,070
Median household income$51,236$56,447$80,734
Groundwork market score2632

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
23All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
105
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
17All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
267 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The 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 the Laurel 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 Laurel area

Population, 2025 estimate
82,281−1.5% since 2020
Households
31,604
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,371 sq. mi.
People per square mile
60
Median household income
$51,236+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,808
Median home value
$132,900
Jobs located here
32,859
Daytime population
82,735Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Laurel area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Laurel 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 Mississippi

Every Mississippi market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Mississippi for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Mississippi, with the Laurel area marked.

Top small-town markets in Mississippi

Small-town markets in Mississippi ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Brookhaven, MS4964.6$7M+0.5%#266 of 507
2Picayune, MS45188.2$4M+5.6%#302 of 507
3Vicksburg, MS41169.5$3.6M−6.3%#350 of 507
4Greenville, MS37137.6$3.8M−9.4%#387 of 507
5Starkville, MS36197.3$4.3M+0.8%#398 of 507
6Columbus, MS34186.7$4.7M−2.7%#414 of 507
7Natchez, MS-LA34167.7$3.8M−0.9%#416 of 507
8Oxford, MS343313.7$2.6M+5.3%#421 of 507
9Tupelo, MS315210.0$3.4M+0.8%#439 of 507
10Grenada, MS30129.5$3.2M−3.6%#448 of 507
12Laurel, MS26268.2$3.8M−1.5%#467 of 507

Other business types in the Laurel area

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 the Laurel, MS area?

There are 26 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Laurel area as of September 2026. 7 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts also show 17 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Laurel, MS area spend on food away from home?

About $99.1M a year, or $3,137 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.8M 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 31,604 households in the Laurel area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Laurel, MS area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Laurel area has 8.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 16% 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 national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Laurel area would have about 24, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,374 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Laurel, MS area growing?

Population estimates put the Laurel area at 82,281 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 31,604 households. Median household income in the Laurel area is $51,236, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.2%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Laurel area scores 26 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #467 of 507 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Laurel 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 Laurel area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Laurel area?

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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.