Food and drink · Small-town market · Missouri
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Branson, MO area
How the Branson, MO area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 20 out of 100: Low
Ranked #496 of 507 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Missouri
- Listings
- 62
- 26 chain locations (42%)
- Official establishments
- 35
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +40.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $75.9M
- On food away from home · $3,330 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 70% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 27.2
- 2.8 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 57,001
- +1.7% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Branson 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 Branson 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
For bakeries and dessert shops, the Branson area has a Groundwork market score of 20 (low): #496 of 507 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Missouri. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Branson area spend about $75.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,330 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.2M per shop, 70% 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 62 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Branson area as of September 2026. 26 of them (42%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 27.2 per 10,000 households, 2.8 times the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Branson area in 2023, up 40.0% from 2019. That is one for every 651 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. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $499K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Branson area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Branson area grew 1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Branson area compares
The same measures for Missouri 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 | Branson area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 27.2 | 8.1 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $4.7M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 651 | 1,913 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +40.0% | +43.3% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,330 | $3,799 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $56,497 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 20 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 35All snack bars and retail bakeries · +40.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 303
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 5All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6226 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $499K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Branson 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 Branson area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 57,001+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 22,788
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 632 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 89
- Median household income
- $56,497+22.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,677
- Median home value
- $218,800
- Jobs located here
- 27,574
- Daytime population
- 57,828Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Branson 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 Branson 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Missouri for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Missouri (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Branson area marked.
Top small-town markets in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warrensburg, MO | 73 | 14 | 6.6 | $5.4M | +4.9% | #40 of 507 |
| 2Sedalia, MO | 71 | 10 | 5.9 | $5.7M | +2.9% | #53 of 507 |
| 3Lebanon, MO | 61 | 10 | 6.9 | $4.6M | +2.5% | #138 of 507 |
| 4Hannibal, MO | 55 | 9 | 5.9 | $5.8M | +0.4% | #202 of 507 |
| 5Farmington, MO | 55 | 19 | 7.7 | $4.3M | +2.1% | #205 of 507 |
| 6Marshall, MO | 51 | 5 | 6.2 | $5.3M | −0.3% | #241 of 507 |
| Quincy, IL-MO | 44 | 25 | 8.0 | $4.4M | −2.0% | #312 of 507 |
| 7Fort Leonard Wood, MO | 44 | 21 | 12.5 | $2.8M | +0.8% | #323 of 507 |
| 8Moberly, MO | 41 | 8 | 8.7 | $3.7M | +0.2% | #349 of 507 |
| 9West Plains, MO | 39 | 15 | 9.4 | $3.3M | +2.5% | #372 of 507 |
| 13Branson, MO | 20 | 62 | 27.2 | $1.2M | +1.7% | #496 of 507 |
Other business types in the Branson area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes20
- Sit-down restaurants20
- Fast food and sandwich shops23
- Pizza22
- Coffee shops and cafes20
- Bakeries and dessert shops20
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 Branson, MO area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 62 bakeries and dessert shops in the Branson area. 26 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 40.0% 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 5 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Branson, MO area spend on food away from home?
About $75.9M a year, or $3,330 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 62 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $1.2M 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 22,788 households in the Branson area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Branson, MO area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Branson area has 27.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 2.8 times the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $1.2M, 70% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Branson area would have about 18, against 62 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 651 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 40.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Branson, MO area growing?
Population estimates put the Branson area at 57,001 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 22,788 households. The median household income in the Branson area is $56,497 a year, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.7% 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. 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 Branson area scores 20 for bakeries and dessert shops (low), #496 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 Branson 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 Branson area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Branson 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 Branson 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.