Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Pennsylvania

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Sunbury, PA area

How the Sunbury, PA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #226 of 507 scored small-town markets
#7 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania

Listings
39
9 chain locations (23%)
Official establishments
11
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$159M
On food away from home · $3,474 a household
Spending per listing
$4.1M
2% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.5
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
107,788
−1.7% since 2020

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

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 39 bakeries and dessert shops in the Sunbury area. 9 of them (23%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.5 for every 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

At $3,474 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Sunbury area spend about $159M a year on food away from home. Spread across 39 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.1M per shop, 2% 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 Sunbury area was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 4,159 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 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Sunbury area declined 1.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For bakeries and dessert shops, the Sunbury area has a Groundwork market score of 53 (upper middle): #226 of 507 scored small-town markets and #7 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania.

How the Sunbury 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Sunbury, PA area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureSunbury areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.510.49.8
Spending per listing$4.1M$3.8M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)4,1591,6101,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,474$3,973$4,070
Median household income$62,262$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5338

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
113
Annual payroll, 2023
$3M
One-person businesses, 2023
10All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
399 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
38The 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 Sunbury 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 Sunbury area

Population, 2025 estimate
107,788−1.7% since 2020
Households
45,748
Median age
44.6
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
588 sq. mi.
People per square mile
185
Median household income
$62,262
Average household income
$83,829
Median home value
$174,900
Jobs located here
45,171
Daytime population
106,101Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Bakeries 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 Sunbury area marked.

Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania

Small-town markets in Pennsylvania ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hemlock Farms, PA89114.5$8.8M+7.2%#3 of 507
2Lock Haven, PA65117.1$4.8M+1.3%#101 of 507
3Warren, PA6174.3$7.6M−3.8%#125 of 507
4Huntingdon, PA59106.1$5.7M−2.4%#156 of 507
5DuBois, PA57175.2$6.4M−2.9%#178 of 507
6Lewistown, PA53115.9$5.6M0.0%#217 of 507
7Sunbury, PA53398.5$4.1M−1.7%#226 of 507
8Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA48238.7$3.9M+2.3%#278 of 507
9Pottsville, PA486411.0$3.2M+1.5%#281 of 507
10Sayre, PA422911.8$3M−0.6%#340 of 507

Other business types in the Sunbury area

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Sunbury, PA area?

The Sunbury area has 39 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 11 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. Another 10 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Sunbury, PA area spend on food away from home?

About $159M a year, or $3,474 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 39 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.1M 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 45,748 households in the Sunbury area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Sunbury, PA area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Sunbury area has 8.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.1M, 2% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Sunbury area would have about 38, against 39 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,159 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sunbury, PA area growing?

Population estimates put the Sunbury area at 107,788 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 45,748 households. Median household income in the Sunbury area is $62,262, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Sunbury area scores 53 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #226 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 Sunbury 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 Sunbury area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sunbury 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 Sunbury 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.