Food and drink · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Meadville, PA area
The bakeries and dessert shops in the Meadville, PA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #446 of 507 scored small-town markets
#17 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 32
- 3 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $111M
- On food away from home · $3,281 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.5M
- 16% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.5
- 3% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 81,792
- −2.4% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Meadville 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 Meadville area. 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
For bakeries and dessert shops, the Meadville area has a Groundwork market score of 30 (lower middle): #446 of 507 scored small-town markets and #17 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $3,281 per household (19% below the U.S. average), households in the Meadville area spend about $111M a year on food away from home. That works out to $3.5M per shop, 16% 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 32 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Meadville area as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 9%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 9.5 per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 17 businesses with payroll in the Meadville area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 1,990 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. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1M has gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Meadville area. Population estimates show the Meadville area declined 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Meadville area 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 | Meadville area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.5 | 10.4 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.5M | $3.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,990 | 1,610 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.4% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,281 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $60,476 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 85
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 323 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 27The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Meadville 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 Meadville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 81,792−2.4% since 2020
- Households
- 33,838
- Median age
- 44.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,012 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 82
- Median household income
- $60,476+20.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,870
- Median home value
- $153,200
- Jobs located here
- 28,045
- Daytime population
- 77,378Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Meadville 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 Meadville area. 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 small-town markets in Pennsylvania for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Meadville area marked.
Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hemlock Farms, PA | 89 | 11 | 4.5 | $8.8M | +7.2% | #3 of 507 |
| 2Lock Haven, PA | 65 | 11 | 7.1 | $4.8M | +1.3% | #101 of 507 |
| 3Warren, PA | 61 | 7 | 4.3 | $7.6M | −3.8% | #125 of 507 |
| 4Huntingdon, PA | 59 | 10 | 6.1 | $5.7M | −2.4% | #156 of 507 |
| 5DuBois, PA | 57 | 17 | 5.2 | $6.4M | −2.9% | #178 of 507 |
| 6Lewistown, PA | 53 | 11 | 5.9 | $5.6M | 0.0% | #217 of 507 |
| 7Sunbury, PA | 53 | 39 | 8.5 | $4.1M | −1.7% | #226 of 507 |
| 8Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA | 48 | 23 | 8.7 | $3.9M | +2.3% | #278 of 507 |
| 9Pottsville, PA | 48 | 64 | 11.0 | $3.2M | +1.5% | #281 of 507 |
| 10Sayre, PA | 42 | 29 | 11.8 | $3M | −0.6% | #340 of 507 |
| 17Meadville, PA | 30 | 32 | 9.5 | $3.5M | −2.4% | #446 of 507 |
Other business types in the Meadville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes48
- Sit-down restaurants42
- Fast food and sandwich shops62
- Pizza49
- Coffee shops and cafes53
- Bakeries and dessert shops30
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 the Meadville, PA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 32 bakeries and dessert shops in the Meadville area. 3 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too.
How much do households in the Meadville, PA area spend on food away from home?
About $111M a year, or $3,281 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.5M 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 33,838 households in the Meadville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Meadville, PA area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Meadville area has 9.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.5M, 16% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Meadville area would have about 27, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,990 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Meadville, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the Meadville area at 81,792 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 33,838 households. The median household income in the Meadville area is $60,476 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.2% 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. 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 Meadville area scores 30 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #446 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 Meadville 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 Meadville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Meadville 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 Meadville 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.