Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Ohio

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Akron, OH metro area

The bakeries and dessert shops in the Akron, OH metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #161 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio

Listings
240
91 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
168
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +31.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.1B
On food away from home · $3,851 a household
Spending per listing
$4.8M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.1
17% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
701,780
0.0% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 240 bakeries and dessert shops in the Akron metro area. Of those, 91 are chain locations, or 38%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.1 for every 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

At $3,851 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Akron metro area spend about $1.1B a year on food away from home. That works out to $4.8M per shop, 15% 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 168 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Akron metro area in 2023, up 31.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,765 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 19 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 16 SBA-backed loans worth $3.9M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Akron metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Akron metro area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For bakeries and dessert shops, the Akron metro area has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #161 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio.

How the Akron metro area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Akron, OH metro area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureAkron metro areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.18.39.8
Spending per listing$4.8M$4.6M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,7651,7991,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+31.3%+27.8%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,851$3,829$4,070
Median household income$72,371$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score5452

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
168All snack bars and retail bakeries · +31.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,953
Annual payroll, 2023
$36.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
19All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
24091 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
276The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
16
Amount
$3.9M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
701,7800.0% since 2020
Households
296,516
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
900 sq. mi.
People per square mile
777
Median household income
$72,371+26.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$98,647
Median home value
$213,000
Jobs located here
325,441
Daytime population
698,523Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Akron 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.

Or open the report at the center of the Akron metro 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Ohio for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Ohio (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Akron metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Ohio

Metro areas in Ohio ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, OH746837.9$5.3M+4.7%#20 of 387
2Springfield, OH65285.0$7M−0.4%#70 of 387
3Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN647818.6$4.8M+2.7%#82 of 387
4Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH592717.9$4.8M+1.5%#129 of 387
5Akron, OH542408.1$4.8M0.0%#161 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH521026.7$5M−2.6%#181 of 387
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH51336.6$5M−3.6%#188 of 387
6Toledo, OH481977.7$4.7M−1.0%#209 of 387
7Cleveland, OH478188.8$4.4M−0.8%#223 of 387
8Canton-Massillon, OH381498.9$4.1M−0.2%#293 of 387

Other business types in the Akron 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 Akron, OH metro area?

There are 240 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Akron metro area as of September 2026. 91 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 168 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 31.3% 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 19 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Akron, OH metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1.1B a year, or $3,851 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 240 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.8M 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 296,516 households in the Akron metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Akron, OH metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Akron metro area has 8.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.8M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Akron metro area would have about 276, against 240 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,765 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 31.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the Akron, OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Akron metro area at 701,780 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 296,516 households. Median household income in the Akron metro area is $72,371, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.3%, 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 Akron metro area scores 54 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #161 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 Akron 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 Akron metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Akron 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 Akron 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.