Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · North Carolina

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Lumberton, NC area

How the Lumberton, 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 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #121 of 507 scored small-town markets
#6 of 22 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
26
8 chain locations (31%)
Official establishments
9
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$121.4M
On food away from home · $2,814 a household
Spending per listing
$4.7M
13% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.0
39% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
119,941
+3.4% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 26 bakeries and dessert shops in the Lumberton area. 8 of them (31%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 6.0 per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in the Lumberton area spend about $121.4M a year on food away from home, or $2,814 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.7M per shop, 13% 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.

Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Lumberton area in 2023. That is one for every 4,793 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 also show 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lumberton area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, the Lumberton area has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #121 of 507 scored small-town markets and #6 of 22 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Lumberton 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Lumberton, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureLumberton areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.08.79.8
Spending per listing$4.7M$4.3M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)4,7931,7031,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+42.6%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.4%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$2,814$3,776$4,070
Median household income$41,978$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score6256

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
92
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
10All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
268 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
29The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
119,941+3.4% since 2020
Households
43,134
Median age
37.3
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
947 sq. mi.
People per square mile
123
Median household income
$41,978+20.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$62,210
Median home value
$94,500
Jobs located here
39,575
Daytime population
113,327Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton area. 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 small-town markets in North Carolina for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Lumberton area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Anderson Creek, NC90255.0$7.2M+12.3%#2 of 507
2Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC66276.9$4.7M+3.4%#85 of 507
3Wilson, NC65206.0$5.3M+1.7%#98 of 507
4Elizabeth City, NC65117.0$4.9M+4.5%#100 of 507
5North Wilkesboro, NC64103.7$8.1M+0.6%#103 of 507
6Lumberton, NC62266.0$4.7M+3.4%#121 of 507
7Sanford, NC62197.6$4.5M+10.8%#122 of 507
8New Bern, NC62428.0$4.3M+3.6%#123 of 507
9Roanoke Rapids, NC59113.9$7.7M−4.3%#155 of 507
10Rockingham, NC5863.5$8.2M−1.6%#166 of 507

Other business types in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton, NC area?

There are 26 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Lumberton area as of September 2026. 8 of them (31%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Lumberton, NC area spend on food away from home?

About $121.4M a year, or $2,814 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 26 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 43,134 households in the Lumberton area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Lumberton area has 6.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 13% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Lumberton area would have about 29, against 26 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,793 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Lumberton, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the Lumberton area at 119,941 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 43,134 households. Median household income in the Lumberton area is $41,978, 48% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.0%, 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 Lumberton area scores 62 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #121 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 Lumberton 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 Lumberton area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lumberton 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 Lumberton 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.