Food and drink · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Bakeries and dessert shops in the St. Marys, PA area
The bakeries and dessert shops in the St. Marys, PA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #435 of 507 scored small-town markets
#16 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 14
- 2 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $45.2M
- On food away from home · $3,390 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 22% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.5
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,926
- −3.3% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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
The St. Marys area scores 32 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #435 of 507 scored small-town markets and #16 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 bakeries and dessert shops in the St. Marys area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 14%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 10.5 for every 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
At $3,390 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in the St. Marys area spend about $45.2M a year on food away from home. Spread across 14 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $3.2M per shop, 22% 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 St. Marys area was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 2,221 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. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the St. Marys area declined 3.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the St. Marys 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 | St. Marys area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.5 | 10.4 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $3.8M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 2,221 | 1,610 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.3% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,390 | $3,973 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $66,380 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 87
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 142 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,926−3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 13,325
- Median age
- 47.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 827 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 37
- Median household income
- $66,380+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,773
- Median home value
- $133,600
- Jobs located here
- 12,876
- Daytime population
- 29,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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 |
| 16St. Marys, PA | 32 | 14 | 10.5 | $3.2M | −3.3% | #435 of 507 |
Other business types in the St. Marys area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes41
- Sit-down restaurants34
- Fast food and sandwich shops64
- Pizza43
- Coffee shops and cafes59
- Bakeries and dessert shops32
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 St. Marys, PA area?
There are 14 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the St. Marys area as of September 2026. 2 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 6 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 St. Marys, PA area spend on food away from home?
About $45.2M a year, or $3,390 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.2M 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 13,325 households in the St. Marys area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Marys, PA area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The St. Marys area has 10.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the St. Marys area would have about 11, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,221 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the St. Marys, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Marys area at 29,926 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,325 households. Median household income in the St. Marys area is $66,380, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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. 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 St. Marys area scores 32 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #435 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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.