Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Ohio

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Defiance, OH area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Defiance, OH area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #419 of 507 scored small-town markets
#27 of 28 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
18
3 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
12
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$56M
On food away from home · $3,656 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.7
19% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
38,292
+0.1% since 2020

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

For bakeries and dessert shops, the Defiance area has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #419 of 507 scored small-town markets and #27 of 28 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 bakeries and dessert shops in the Defiance area. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 17%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 11.7 for every 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in the Defiance area spend about $56M a year on food away from home, or $3,656 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. Spread across 18 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.1M per shop, 25% below 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 12 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Defiance area in 2023. That is one for every 1,277 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. Population estimates show the Defiance area grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Defiance 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 Defiance, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureDefiance areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.78.39.8
Spending per listing$3.1M$4.6M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,2771,7991,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+27.8%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,656$3,829$4,070
Median household income$73,064$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score3452

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
156
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
183 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
14The 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 Defiance 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 Defiance area

Population, 2025 estimate
38,292+0.1% since 2020
Households
15,327
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
411 sq. mi.
People per square mile
93
Median household income
$73,064+21.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,073
Median home value
$163,200
Jobs located here
14,922
Daytime population
36,059Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Defiance 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.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Ohio for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Ohio, with the Defiance area marked.

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wilmington, OH7984.8$7.7M+0.6%#16 of 507
2Mount Vernon, OH66208.5$4.5M+1.9%#87 of 507
3Athens, OH63146.1$5.5M+1.3%#111 of 507
4Zanesville, OH62195.5$6.2M+0.7%#116 of 507
5Sidney, OH61126.3$6M−0.2%#129 of 507
6Findlay, OH61216.6$5.7M+0.1%#131 of 507
7Coshocton, OH61106.8$4.8M+1.6%#136 of 507
8Urbana, OH60127.7$4.9M+0.2%#145 of 507
9Marietta, OH56156.1$5.7M−2.1%#185 of 507
10Cambridge, OH53116.7$4.9M−0.1%#220 of 507
27Defiance, OH341811.7$3.1M+0.1%#419 of 507

Other business types in the Defiance area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Defiance, OH area?

There are 18 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Defiance area as of September 2026. 3 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 12 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.

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

About $56M a year, or $3,656 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 15,327 households in the Defiance area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Defiance area has 11.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.1M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Defiance area would have about 14, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,277 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Defiance, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Defiance area at 38,292 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,327 households. Median household income in the Defiance area is $73,064, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.9%, 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 Defiance area scores 34 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #419 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 Defiance 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 Defiance area

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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.