Food and drink · County · New Jersey
Bakeries and dessert shops in Mercer County, NJ
How Mercer County, NJ compares with other counties and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,009 of 1,889 scored counties
#11 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey
- Listings
- 174
- 102 chain locations (59%)
- Official establishments
- 131
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +17.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $666.1M
- On food away from home · $4,622 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.1
- 23% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 399,289
- +3.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Mercer 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 Mercer County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 174 bakeries and dessert shops in Mercer County. 102 of them (59%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 12.1 for every 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Households in Mercer County spend about $666.1M a year on food away from home, or $4,622 per household, 14% above the U.S. average. Spread across 174 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 131 businesses with payroll in Mercer County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 17.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,100 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. Official counts list 12 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.2M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Mercer County.
Population estimates put the population change in Mercer County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Mercer County scores 48 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #1,009 of 1,889 scored counties and #11 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey.
How Mercer County compares
The same measures for New Jersey 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 | Mercer County | New Jersey | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.1 | 13.3 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $3.5M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,100 | 1,058 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +17.0% | +15.2% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,622 | $4,680 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $100,645 | $103,556 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 112 → 131All snack bars and retail bakeries · +17.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,528
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $32.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 174102 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 161The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $1.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Mercer 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 Mercer County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 399,289+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 144,114
- Median age
- 40.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 225 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,719
- Median household income
- $100,645+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $142,372
- Median home value
- $377,700
- Jobs located here
- 262,034
- Daytime population
- 469,892Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Mercer 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 Mercer County. 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 New Jersey
Every New Jersey market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in New Jersey for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in New Jersey, with Mercer County marked.
Top counties in New Jersey
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sussex County, NJ | 67 | 51 | 8.8 | $5.5M | +2.9% | #337 of 1,889 |
| 2Somerset County, NJ | 65 | 138 | 10.6 | $5.2M | +3.5% | #390 of 1,889 |
| 3Burlington County, NJ | 58 | 203 | 11.5 | $4.2M | +4.3% | #630 of 1,889 |
| 4Warren County, NJ | 55 | 54 | 11.9 | $3.7M | +3.2% | #756 of 1,889 |
| 5Morris County, NJ | 53 | 244 | 12.6 | $4.3M | +3.2% | #825 of 1,889 |
| 6Middlesex County, NJ | 53 | 355 | 11.5 | $4.2M | +2.6% | #827 of 1,889 |
| 7Salem County, NJ | 52 | 27 | 10.9 | $3.6M | +2.3% | #870 of 1,889 |
| 8Essex County, NJ | 51 | 352 | 11.0 | $3.9M | +4.2% | #906 of 1,889 |
| 9Hunterdon County, NJ | 50 | 69 | 13.6 | $4M | +2.3% | #936 of 1,889 |
| 10Hudson County, NJ | 49 | 315 | 10.5 | $4.3M | +1.8% | #963 of 1,889 |
| 11Mercer County, NJ | 48 | 174 | 12.1 | $3.8M | +3.3% | #1,009 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Mercer County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants48
- Fast food and sandwich shops65
- Pizza64
- Coffee shops and cafes60
- Bakeries and dessert shops48
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 Mercer County, NJ?
Mercer County has 174 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 102 of them (59%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 131 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 17.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Mercer County, NJ spend on food away from home?
About $666.1M a year, or $4,622 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 174 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 144,114 households in Mercer County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Mercer County, NJ compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Mercer County has 12.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 23% above 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, Mercer County would have about 161, against 174 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,100 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 17.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Mercer County, NJ growing?
Population estimates put Mercer County at 399,289 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 144,114 households. Median household income in Mercer County is $100,645, 25% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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. 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. Mercer County scores 48 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,009 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mercer 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 Mercer County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.