Groundwork

Food and drink · County · New Hampshire

Bakeries and dessert shops in Carroll County, NH

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in Carroll County, NH, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,577 of 1,889 scored counties
#9 of 10 scored counties in New Hampshire

Listings
65
10 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
35
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +16.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$90.2M
On food away from home · $4,127 a household
Spending per listing
$1.4M
67% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.8
3 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
52,784
+5.0% since 2020

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

For bakeries and dessert shops, Carroll County has a Groundwork market score of 32 (lower middle): #1,577 of 1,889 scored counties and #9 of 10 scored counties in New Hampshire. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $4,127 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in Carroll County spend about $90.2M a year on food away from home. That works out to $1.4M per shop, 67% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

Carroll County has 65 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 15%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 29.8 for every 10,000 households, 3 times the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 35 businesses with payroll in Carroll County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 16.7% from 2019. That is one for every 624 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 $450K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Carroll County. Population estimates show Carroll County grew 5.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Carroll County compares

The same measures for New Hampshire 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 Carroll County, NH compared with New Hampshire and the U.S.
MeasureCarroll CountyNew HampshireU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.814.29.8
Spending per listing$1.4M$3.2M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)6249801,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+16.7%+14.3%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.0%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,127$4,493$4,070
Median household income$86,463$99,031$80,734
Groundwork market score3234

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
30 → 35All snack bars and retail bakeries · +16.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
307
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6510 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$450K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
52,784+5.0% since 2020
Households
21,847
Median age
52.4
Homes lived in by their owners
83%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
932 sq. mi.
People per square mile
56
Median household income
$86,463+36.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$113,348
Median home value
$388,900
Jobs located here
19,503
Daytime population
49,832Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Carroll 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 Carroll 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 New Hampshire

Every New Hampshire market ranked →

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

Top counties in New Hampshire

Counties in New Hampshire ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sullivan County, NH511810.8$3.6M+2.1%#907 of 1,889
2Merrimack County, NH506210.2$4.3M+2.6%#929 of 1,889
3Hillsborough County, NH4621212.6$3.7M+2.5%#1,087 of 1,889
4Strafford County, NH446011.5$3.7M+3.0%#1,155 of 1,889
5Rockingham County, NH4020115.8$3.1M+3.0%#1,308 of 1,889
6Belknap County, NH363613.7$3.1M+2.1%#1,446 of 1,889
7Cheshire County, NH364916.0$2.5M+2.3%#1,454 of 1,889
8Coos County, NH361913.6$2.4M+0.4%#1,455 of 1,889
9Carroll County, NH326529.8$1.4M+5.0%#1,577 of 1,889
10Grafton County, NH307018.9$2.2M+2.2%#1,627 of 1,889

Other business types in Carroll County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Carroll County, NH?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 65 bakeries and dessert shops in Carroll County. 10 of them (15%) 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 16.7% 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.

How much do households in Carroll County, NH spend on food away from home?

About $90.2M a year, or $4,127 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 65 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $1.4M 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 21,847 households in Carroll County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Carroll County has 29.8 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 3 times the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $1.4M, 67% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Carroll County would have about 22, against 65 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 624 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 16.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Carroll County, NH growing?

Population estimates put Carroll County at 52,784 people in 2025, up 5.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 21,847 households. The median household income in Carroll County is $86,463 a year, 7% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.9% 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. Carroll County scores 32 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,577 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Carroll County?

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 Carroll County. 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.