Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Kill Devil Hills, NC area
How the Kill Devil Hills, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #412 of 507 scored small-town markets
#20 of 22 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 89
- 21 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 59
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +20.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $70.9M
- On food away from home · $4,213 a household
- Spending per listing
- $797K
- 81% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 52.9
- 5.4 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 38,245
- +3.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Kill Devil Hills 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 Kill Devil Hills area. 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
The Kill Devil Hills area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #412 of 507 scored small-town markets and #20 of 22 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $4,213 per household (4% above the U.S. average), households in the Kill Devil Hills area spend about $70.9M a year on food away from home. That is about $797K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 81% 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 89 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Kill Devil Hills area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 52.9, 5.4 times the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 59 businesses with payroll in the Kill Devil Hills area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 20.4% from 2019. That is one for every 285 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, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $3.9M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Kill Devil Hills area. Population estimates show the Kill Devil Hills area grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Kill Devil Hills area 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.
| Measure | Kill Devil Hills area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 52.9 | 8.7 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $797K | $4.3M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 285 | 1,703 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +20.4% | +42.6% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,213 | $3,776 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $88,994 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 59All snack bars and retail bakeries · +20.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 549
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8921 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 17The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $3.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Kill Devil Hills 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 Kill Devil Hills area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 38,245+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 16,836
- Median age
- 49.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 383 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 99
- Median household income
- $88,994+49.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $129,955
- Median home value
- $460,400
- Jobs located here
- 17,198
- Daytime population
- 38,549Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Kill Devil Hills 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 Kill Devil Hills area. 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Kill Devil Hills area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 90 | 25 | 5.0 | $7.2M | +12.3% | #2 of 507 |
| 2Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 66 | 27 | 6.9 | $4.7M | +3.4% | #85 of 507 |
| 3Wilson, NC | 65 | 20 | 6.0 | $5.3M | +1.7% | #98 of 507 |
| 4Elizabeth City, NC | 65 | 11 | 7.0 | $4.9M | +4.5% | #100 of 507 |
| 5North Wilkesboro, NC | 64 | 10 | 3.7 | $8.1M | +0.6% | #103 of 507 |
| 6Lumberton, NC | 62 | 26 | 6.0 | $4.7M | +3.4% | #121 of 507 |
| 7Sanford, NC | 62 | 19 | 7.6 | $4.5M | +10.8% | #122 of 507 |
| 8New Bern, NC | 62 | 42 | 8.0 | $4.3M | +3.6% | #123 of 507 |
| 9Roanoke Rapids, NC | 59 | 11 | 3.9 | $7.7M | −4.3% | #155 of 507 |
| 10Rockingham, NC | 58 | 6 | 3.5 | $8.2M | −1.6% | #166 of 507 |
| 20Kill Devil Hills, NC | 35 | 89 | 52.9 | $797K | +3.3% | #412 of 507 |
Other business types in the Kill Devil Hills area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes35
- Sit-down restaurants35
- Fast food and sandwich shops37
- Pizza36
- Coffee shops and cafes36
- Bakeries and dessert shops35
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 the Kill Devil Hills, NC area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 89 bakeries and dessert shops in the Kill Devil Hills area. 21 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 59 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 20.4% 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 the Kill Devil Hills, NC area spend on food away from home?
About $70.9M a year, or $4,213 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 89 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $797K 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 16,836 households in the Kill Devil Hills area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Kill Devil Hills, NC area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Kill Devil Hills area has 52.9 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 5.4 times the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $797K, 81% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Kill Devil Hills area would have about 17, against 89 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 285 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 20.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Kill Devil Hills, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Kill Devil Hills area at 38,245 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,836 households. The median household income in the Kill Devil Hills area is $88,994 a year, 10% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 49.9% 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. 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 Kill Devil Hills area scores 35 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #412 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 Kill Devil Hills 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 Kill Devil Hills area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kill Devil Hills 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 Kill Devil Hills 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.