Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Ohio

Bakeries and dessert shops in Hamilton County, OH

How Hamilton County, OH 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 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,079 of 1,889 scored counties
#56 of 82 scored counties in Ohio

Listings
353
127 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
238
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +26.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.4B
On food away from home · $3,944 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
4% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.0
2% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
838,418
+1.0% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Hamilton County comes to about $1.4B a year: $3,944 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 353 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4M per shop, 4% 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 353 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Hamilton County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 10.0 per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 238 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Hamilton County in 2023, up 26.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,491 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. Official counts also show 28 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 20 SBA-backed loans worth $9.7M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Hamilton County.

Population estimates show Hamilton County grew 1.0% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, Hamilton County has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #1,079 of 1,889 scored counties and #56 of 82 scored counties in Ohio.

How Hamilton County 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 Hamilton County, OH compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureHamilton CountyOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.08.39.8
Spending per listing$4M$4.6M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,4911,7991,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+26.6%+27.8%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,944$3,829$4,070
Median household income$72,470$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score4652

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
188 → 238All snack bars and retail bakeries · +26.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,992
Annual payroll, 2023
$54.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
28All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
353127 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
338The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
20
Amount
$9.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
838,418+1.0% since 2020
Households
354,739
Median age
38.7
Homes lived in by their owners
59%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
406 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2,049
Median household income
$72,470+26.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,646
Median home value
$241,900
Jobs located here
534,856
Daytime population
968,934Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Bakeries and dessert shops across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

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

Top counties in Ohio

Counties in Ohio ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Union County, OH86197.8$6.1M+16.5%#39 of 1,889
2Pickaway County, OH80135.9$6.5M+7.4%#88 of 1,889
3Clermont County, OH79607.1$5.9M+3.9%#102 of 1,889
4Warren County, OH78677.3$6.7M+5.7%#112 of 1,889
5Fairfield County, OH78447.3$5.9M+6.5%#116 of 1,889
6Madison County, OH78148.9$4.6M+7.1%#121 of 1,889
7Morrow County, OH76107.4$5.2M+3.7%#150 of 1,889
8Perry County, OH7464.5$8.1M+1.3%#177 of 1,889
9Clinton County, OH7384.8$7.7M+0.6%#198 of 1,889
10Brown County, OH7252.9$12.4M+1.6%#213 of 1,889
56Hamilton County, OH4635310.0$4M+1.0%#1,079 of 1,889

Other business types in Hamilton County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Hamilton County, OH?

As of September 2026, map listings count 353 bakeries and dessert shops in Hamilton County. 127 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 238 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 26.6% 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. Another 28 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Hamilton County, OH spend on food away from home?

About $1.4B a year, or $3,944 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 353 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 354,739 households in Hamilton County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Hamilton County has 10.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4M, 4% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Hamilton County would have about 338, against 353 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,491 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 26.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Hamilton County, OH growing?

Population estimates put Hamilton County at 838,418 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 354,739 households. The median household income in Hamilton County is $72,470 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.7% 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. Hamilton County scores 46 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,079 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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.