Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · New York

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area

How the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #277 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
445
131 chain locations (29%)
Official establishments
321
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +22.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.9B
On food away from home · $3,782 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.9
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,155,653
−0.8% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 445 bakeries and dessert shops in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. 131 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 8.9 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

At $3,782 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area spend about $1.9B a year on food away from home. Spread across 445 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.3M per shop, 3% 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area was 321 in 2023, up 22.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,562 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 42 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 31 SBA-backed loans worth $5.3M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area declined 0.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area is 40 (lower middle), #277 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.

How the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureBuffalo-Cheektowaga metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.911.79.8
Spending per listing$4.3M$3.6M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,5629551,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+22.5%+16.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.8%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,782$4,270$4,070
Median household income$72,237$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score4026

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
321All snack bars and retail bakeries · +22.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,792
Annual payroll, 2023
$86.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
42All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
445131 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
458The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
31
Amount
$5.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,155,653−0.8% since 2020
Households
501,549
Median age
42.1
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,565 sq. mi.
People per square mile
742
Median household income
$72,237+25.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,175
Median home value
$226,100
Jobs located here
547,190
Daytime population
1,174,035Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in New York, with the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY563368.8$4.8M+1.9%#150 of 387
2Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY404458.9$4.3M−0.8%#277 of 387
3Rochester, NY394269.6$4.1M−0.7%#287 of 387
4Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY3933413.1$3.4M+3.0%#288 of 387
5New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ369,40512.7$3.6M+0.6%#303 of 387
6Kingston, NY339312.5$3.3M+1.1%#320 of 387
7Syracuse, NY302699.9$3.9M−1.3%#337 of 387
8Binghamton, NY29908.8$4.1M−1.3%#344 of 387
9Ithaca, NY264911.3$3.5M−1.4%#363 of 387
10Utica-Rome, NY2212910.7$3.4M−2.0%#373 of 387

Other business types in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area?

The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area has 445 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 131 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 321 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 22.5% 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 42 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1.9B a year, or $3,782 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 445 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.3M 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 501,549 households in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area has 8.9 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.3M, 3% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area would have about 458, against 445 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,562 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 22.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area at 1,155,653 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 501,549 households. Median household income in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area is $72,237, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.4%, 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. The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area scores 40 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #277 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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.