Food and drink · County · Pennsylvania
Bakeries and dessert shops in Dauphin County, PA
How Dauphin County, PA 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 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,050 of 1,889 scored counties
#30 of 62 scored counties in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 137
- 52 chain locations (38%)
- Official establishments
- 65
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +41.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $468.4M
- On food away from home · $3,859 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 17% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.3
- 15% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 293,351
- +2.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County. 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
Household spending on food away from home in Dauphin County comes to about $468.4M a year: $3,859 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.4M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 17% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Dauphin County has 137 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 52 are chain locations, or 38%, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.3, 15% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 65 businesses with payroll in Dauphin County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 41.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,867 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 11 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $511K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Dauphin County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Dauphin County grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in Dauphin County is 47 (lower middle), #1,050 of 1,889 scored counties and #30 of 62 scored counties in Pennsylvania.
How Dauphin County compares
The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 | Dauphin County | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $3.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,867 | 1,610 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +41.3% | +13.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,859 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $76,242 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46 → 65All snack bars and retail bakeries · +41.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 681
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $13M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 13752 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 113The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $511K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 293,351+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 121,358
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 525 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 552
- Median household income
- $76,242+25.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $101,388
- Median home value
- $236,400
- Jobs located here
- 201,933
- Daytime population
- 355,122Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County. 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Dauphin County marked.
Top counties in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pike County, PA | 86 | 11 | 4.5 | $8.8M | +7.2% | #35 of 1,889 |
| 2Perry County, PA | 70 | 11 | 6.0 | $6.4M | +2.1% | #259 of 1,889 |
| 3Franklin County, PA | 70 | 51 | 8.0 | $4.8M | +3.0% | #276 of 1,889 |
| 4Greene County, PA | 63 | 8 | 5.6 | $6.3M | −5.5% | #440 of 1,889 |
| 5Chester County, PA | 63 | 236 | 11.5 | $4.5M | +4.2% | #456 of 1,889 |
| 6Lebanon County, PA | 62 | 45 | 7.9 | $4.9M | +2.2% | #476 of 1,889 |
| 7York County, PA | 62 | 184 | 10.1 | $4M | +3.6% | #488 of 1,889 |
| 8Cumberland County, PA | 61 | 115 | 10.8 | $3.9M | +6.5% | #529 of 1,889 |
| 9Warren County, PA | 60 | 7 | 4.3 | $7.6M | −3.8% | #530 of 1,889 |
| 10Adams County, PA | 60 | 37 | 9.1 | $4.4M | +3.6% | #554 of 1,889 |
| 30Dauphin County, PA | 47 | 137 | 11.3 | $3.4M | +2.3% | #1,050 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Dauphin County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes48
- Sit-down restaurants48
- Fast food and sandwich shops56
- Pizza49
- Coffee shops and cafes65
- Bakeries and dessert shops47
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 Dauphin County, PA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 137 bakeries and dessert shops in Dauphin County. 52 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 65 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 41.3% 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 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Dauphin County, PA spend on food away from home?
About $468.4M a year, or $3,859 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 137 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 121,358 households in Dauphin County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Dauphin County, PA compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Dauphin County has 11.3 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Dauphin County would have about 113, against 137 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,867 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 41.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Dauphin County, PA growing?
Population estimates put Dauphin County at 293,351 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 121,358 households. The median household income in Dauphin County is $76,242 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.6% 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. Dauphin County scores 47 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,050 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Dauphin 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 Dauphin 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.