Groundwork

Market rankings · Rhode Island

Bakeries and dessert shops in Rhode Island

Markets across Rhode Island ranked by the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings
576
204 chain locations (35%)
Official establishments
538
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +13.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.9B
On food away from home
Listings per 10k households
13.0
33% above the U.S.
Spending per listing
$3.2M
22% below the U.S.
Rank among states
#49 of 51
Market score 25 · Lower middle

A site report maps the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings around any address in Rhode Island by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

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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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 576 bakeries and dessert shops in Rhode Island. Chain locations make up 35% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That is 13.0 per 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

At $4,196 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in Rhode Island spend about $1.9B a year on food away from home. That is about $3.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 538 businesses with payroll in Rhode Island classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 13.0% from 2019. That is one for every 821 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 24.6% over the same years. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $2.9M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Rhode Island.

Among the 50 states and DC, Rhode Island ranks #49 for bakeries and dessert shops, with a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle). The one scored metro area in or partly in Rhode Island, the Providence-Warwick metro area, scores 31. Among 5 scored counties, Kent County scores highest (39).

Every market in Rhode Island for bakeries and dessert shops

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Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Rhode Island, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Rhode Island, ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Providence-Warwick, RI-MA3188913.2$3.2M+2.1%#335 of 387

Counties

Counties in Rhode Island, ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kent County, RI399212.6$3.4M+1.8%#1,329 of 1,889
2Providence County, RI3631012.0$3.3M+2.8%#1,443 of 1,889
3Bristol County, RI303316.4$3M−1.5%#1,619 of 1,889
4Washington County, RI308816.7$2.8M0.0%#1,622 of 1,889
5Newport County, RI295314.4$3.2M−2.9%#1,644 of 1,889

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Rhode Island?

There are 576 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Rhode Island as of September 2026. 204 of them (35%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 538 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 13.0% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 46 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Rhode Island spend on food away from home?

About $1.9B a year, or $4,196 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 576 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 441,570 households in Rhode Island and national spending patterns by income.

How does Rhode Island compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

Rhode Island has 13.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 33% 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, Rhode Island would have about 447, against 576 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 821 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

Which market in Rhode Island has the highest market score for bakeries and dessert shops?

The one scored metro area in or partly in Rhode Island is the Providence-Warwick metro area, at 31 (lower middle). Among 5 scored counties in Rhode Island, Kent County scores highest, at 39 (lower middle). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Rhode Island scores 25 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #49 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rhode Island. 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in other states

All 51 states

Top markets for bakeries and dessert shops across the U.S. · All business types in Rhode Island

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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.