Food and drink · Metro area · Montana
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Missoula, MT metro area
How the Missoula, MT metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #222 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana
- Listings
- 47
- 16 chain locations (34%)
- Official establishments
- 51
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · −9.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $209.3M
- On food away from home · $3,817 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.5M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.6
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,698
- +4.7% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Missoula 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 Missoula metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 47 bakeries and dessert shops in the Missoula metro area. 16 of them (34%) 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.
At $3,817 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in the Missoula metro area spend about $209.3M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.5M per shop, 7% 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 51 businesses with payroll in the Missoula metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, down 9.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,075 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. Another 6 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $628K has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Missoula metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Missoula metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, the Missoula metro area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #222 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana.
How the Missoula metro area compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Missoula metro area | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.6 | 7.9 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.5M | $4.7M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,075 | 1,040 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −9.3% | +32.4% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.7% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,817 | $3,748 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $74,989 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 51All snack bars and retail bakeries · −9.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 662
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 6All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4716 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 51The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $628K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Missoula 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 Missoula metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,698+4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 54,829
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,813 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $74,989
- Average household income
- $102,725
- Median home value
- $466,400
- Jobs located here
- 67,485
- Daytime population
- 132,972Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Missoula 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 Missoula metro 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Montana for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Montana, with the Missoula metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Helena, MT | 70 | 23 | 5.9 | $6.7M | +7.7% | #36 of 387 |
| 2Great Falls, MT | 51 | 20 | 5.6 | $6.4M | +0.7% | #186 of 387 |
| 3Bozeman, MT | 51 | 53 | 10.3 | $4.2M | +7.7% | #191 of 387 |
| 4Billings, MT | 48 | 68 | 8.7 | $4.5M | +4.8% | #214 of 387 |
| 5Missoula, MT | 47 | 47 | 8.6 | $4.5M | +4.7% | #222 of 387 |
Other business types in the Missoula metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes49
- Sit-down restaurants67
- Fast food and sandwich shops60
- Pizza76
- Coffee shops and cafes29
- Bakeries and dessert shops47
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 Missoula, MT metro area?
There are 47 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Missoula metro area as of September 2026. 16 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 51 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, down 9.3% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts list 6 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Missoula, MT metro area spend on food away from home?
About $209.3M a year, or $3,817 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 47 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.5M 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 54,829 households in the Missoula metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Missoula, MT metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Missoula metro area has 8.6 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.5M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Missoula metro area would have about 51, against 47 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,075 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count fell 9.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Missoula, MT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Missoula metro area at 128,698 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 54,829 households. Median household income in the Missoula metro area is $74,989, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Missoula metro area scores 47 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #222 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 Missoula 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 Missoula metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Missoula 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 Missoula 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.