Groundwork

Food and drink · County · North Carolina

Bakeries and dessert shops in Alamance County, NC

How Alamance County, NC 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 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #864 of 1,889 scored counties
#51 of 78 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
61
24 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
38
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +65.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$244.5M
On food away from home · $3,490 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.7
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
186,177
+8.5% since 2020

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

Household spending on food away from home in Alamance County comes to about $244.5M a year: $3,490 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 61 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Alamance County as of September 2026. Of those, 24 are chain locations, or 39%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.7 for every 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Alamance County was 38 in 2023, up 65.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,844 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. Another 9 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $350K has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Alamance County.

Population estimates show Alamance County grew 8.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Alamance County scores 52 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #864 of 1,889 scored counties and #51 of 78 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Alamance County compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Alamance County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureAlamance CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.78.79.8
Spending per listing$4M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,8441,7031,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+65.2%+42.6%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+8.5%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,490$3,776$4,070
Median household income$65,651$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score5256

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
23 → 38All snack bars and retail bakeries · +65.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
436
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
9All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6124 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
59The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$350K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
186,177+8.5% since 2020
Households
70,062
Median age
39.7
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
424 sq. mi.
People per square mile
418
Median household income
$65,651+32.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,032
Median home value
$241,500
Jobs located here
69,257
Daytime population
166,616Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Alamance 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 Alamance 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 North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Alamance County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chatham County, NC96164.8$9.2M+11.0%#1 of 1,889
2Franklin County, NC90103.5$10.4M+18.8%#13 of 1,889
3Lincoln County, NC87215.7$7M+13.2%#31 of 1,889
4Davie County, NC86105.8$6.6M+6.9%#38 of 1,889
5Harnett County, NC85255.0$7.2M+12.3%#48 of 1,889
6Hoke County, NC8384.2$8.4M+9.0%#59 of 1,889
7Person County, NC8053.1$11.2M+3.7%#83 of 1,889
8Johnston County, NC79566.5$6M+17.9%#101 of 1,889
9Davidson County, NC77395.6$6.2M+6.6%#129 of 1,889
10Granville County, NC75125.3$6.9M+2.1%#163 of 1,889
51Alamance County, NC52618.7$4M+8.5%#864 of 1,889

Other business types in Alamance County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Alamance County, NC?

As of September 2026, map listings count 61 bakeries and dessert shops in Alamance County. 24 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 65.2% 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. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Alamance County, NC spend on food away from home?

About $244.5M a year, or $3,490 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 61 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $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 70,062 households in Alamance County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Alamance County has 8.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Alamance County would have about 59, against 61 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,844 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 65.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Alamance County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Alamance County at 186,177 people in 2025, up 8.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 70,062 households. The median household income in Alamance County is $65,651 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.1% 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. Alamance County scores 52 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #864 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Alamance 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 Alamance 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.