Food and drink · Metro area · Pennsylvania
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Reading, PA metro area
The bakeries and dessert shops in the Reading, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #176 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 177
- 79 chain locations (45%)
- Official establishments
- 74
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $643.6M
- On food away from home · $3,943 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.6M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.8
- 10% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 440,072
- +2.7% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Reading 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 Reading metro 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 177 bakeries and dessert shops in the Reading metro area. Of those, 79 are chain locations, or 45%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 10.8 for every 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Households in the Reading metro area spend about $643.6M a year on food away from home, or $3,943 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 177 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.6M per shop, 12% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Reading metro area was 74 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 2,206 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 also show 21 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Reading metro area.
Population estimates show the Reading metro area grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Reading metro area scores 53 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #176 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.
How the Reading metro 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 | Reading metro area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.8 | 10.4 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.6M | $3.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 2,206 | 1,610 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +13.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,943 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $79,777 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 74All snack bars and retail bakeries · 0.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 886
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $15M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 21All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 17779 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 155The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Reading 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 Reading metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 440,072+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 163,236
- Median age
- 40.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 856 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 506
- Median household income
- $79,777+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $103,265
- Median home value
- $257,300
- Jobs located here
- 179,513
- Daytime population
- 404,462Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Reading 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 Reading metro 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 metro areas in Pennsylvania for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Reading metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Chambersburg, PA | 69 | 51 | 8.0 | $4.8M | +3.0% | #48 of 387 |
| 2Lebanon, PA | 65 | 45 | 7.9 | $4.9M | +2.2% | #74 of 387 |
| 3York-Hanover, PA | 61 | 184 | 10.1 | $4M | +3.6% | #111 of 387 |
| 4Gettysburg, PA | 60 | 37 | 9.1 | $4.4M | +3.6% | #121 of 387 |
| 5Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 55 | 263 | 10.7 | $3.7M | +4.2% | #157 of 387 |
| 6Reading, PA | 53 | 177 | 10.8 | $3.6M | +2.7% | #176 of 387 |
| 7Johnstown, PA | 51 | 38 | 6.8 | $4.9M | −3.2% | #189 of 387 |
| 8Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 49 | 391 | 11.5 | $3.6M | +3.0% | #208 of 387 |
| 9Williamsport, PA | 47 | 37 | 7.9 | $4.4M | −1.3% | #224 of 387 |
| 10Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 45 | 2,711 | 11.0 | $4M | +1.4% | #247 of 387 |
Other business types in the Reading metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes77
- Sit-down restaurants70
- Fast food and sandwich shops77
- Pizza60
- Coffee shops and cafes77
- Bakeries and dessert shops53
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 Reading, PA metro area?
There are 177 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Reading metro area as of September 2026. 79 of them (45%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 74 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 21 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Reading, PA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $643.6M a year, or $3,943 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 177 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.6M 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 163,236 households in the Reading metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Reading, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Reading metro area has 10.8 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.6M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Reading metro area would have about 155, against 177 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,206 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Reading, PA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Reading metro area at 440,072 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 163,236 households. Median household income in the Reading metro area is $79,777, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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 Reading metro area scores 53 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #176 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 Reading 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 Reading metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Reading 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 Reading 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.