Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Nebraska

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Hastings, NE area

The bakeries and dessert shops in the Hastings, NE area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #258 of 507 scored small-town markets
#7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska

Listings
14
4 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
11
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$62.9M
On food away from home · $3,690 a household
Spending per listing
$4.5M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.2
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
40,577
−0.2% since 2020

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

At $3,690 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Hastings area spend about $62.9M a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.5M per shop, 9% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

The Hastings area has 14 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 29% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.2, 16% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Hastings area was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 1,551 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.

Population estimates show the Hastings area declined 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Hastings area is 50 (upper middle), #258 of 507 scored small-town markets and #7 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.

How the Hastings area compares

The same measures for Nebraska 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 Hastings, NE area compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureHastings areaNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.27.99.8
Spending per listing$4.5M$5M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,5511,4801,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+35.4%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.2%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,690$3,946$4,070
Median household income$69,510$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market score5059

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
147
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
144 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 the Hastings 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 Hastings area

Population, 2025 estimate
40,577−0.2% since 2020
Households
17,059
Median age
40.4
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
1,711 sq. mi.
People per square mile
24
Median household income
$69,510
Average household income
$91,112
Median home value
$175,200
Jobs located here
18,629
Daytime population
39,802Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Hastings 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 Hastings 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 Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Nebraska

Small-town markets in Nebraska ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Beatrice, NE6966.4$5.6M+0.2%#66 of 507
2Fremont, NE63117.3$5.1M+2.6%#112 of 507
3Norfolk, NE63147.1$5.1M+1.1%#113 of 507
4Columbus, NE58169.2$4.1M+3.8%#175 of 507
5North Platte, NE5574.6$7.7M−3.6%#196 of 507
6Kearney, NE522310.1$3.8M+1.9%#236 of 507
7Hastings, NE50148.2$4.5M−0.2%#258 of 507
8Lexington, NE391414.0$2.6M+1.1%#374 of 507
9Scottsbluff, NE37159.8$3.6M−1.2%#390 of 507

Other business types in the Hastings area

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Hastings, NE area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 bakeries and dessert shops in the Hastings area. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 11 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.

How much do households in the Hastings, NE area spend on food away from home?

About $62.9M a year, or $3,690 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.5M 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 17,059 households in the Hastings area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Hastings 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 $4.5M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Hastings area would have about 15, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,551 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Hastings, NE area growing?

Population estimates put the Hastings area at 40,577 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,059 households. The median household income in the Hastings area is $69,510 a year, 14% 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. 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 Hastings area scores 50 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #258 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 Hastings 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 Hastings area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hastings 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 Hastings 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.