Food and drink · Metro area · Rhode Island
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area
How the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #335 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Rhode Island
- Listings
- 889
- 346 chain locations (39%)
- Official establishments
- 805
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +12.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.8B
- On food away from home · $4,185 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.2
- 35% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,708,161
- +2.1% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick 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
The Providence-Warwick metro area scores 31 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #335 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Rhode Island. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 889 bakeries and dessert shops in the Providence-Warwick metro area. Of those, 346 are chain locations, or 39%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 13.2 per 10,000 households, 35% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Households in the Providence-Warwick metro area spend about $2.8B a year on food away from home, or $4,185 per household, 3% above the U.S. average. That is about $3.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 23% 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 805 businesses with payroll in the Providence-Warwick metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 12.9% from 2019. That is one for every 839 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. Since fiscal 2022, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $5.3M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Providence-Warwick metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Providence-Warwick metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Providence-Warwick metro area compares
The same measures for Rhode Island 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 | Providence-Warwick metro area | Rhode Island | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.2 | 13.0 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $3.2M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 839 | 821 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.9% | +13.0% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +1.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,185 | $4,196 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $87,040 | $87,796 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 25 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 805All snack bars and retail bakeries · +12.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 10,539
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $227.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 60All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 889346 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 682The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 17
- Amount
- $5.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,708,161+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 675,395
- Median age
- 41.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,587 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,061
- Median household income
- $87,040+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $113,866
- Median home value
- $422,500
- Jobs located here
- 710,441
- Daytime population
- 1,584,744Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Providence-Warwick metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes45
- Sit-down restaurants45
- Fast food and sandwich shops72
- Pizza47
- Coffee shops and cafes37
- Bakeries and dessert shops31
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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area?
There are 889 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Providence-Warwick metro area as of September 2026. 346 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 805 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 12.9% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts list 60 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $2.8B a year, or $4,185 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 889 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 675,395 households in the Providence-Warwick metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Providence-Warwick metro area has 13.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 35% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Providence-Warwick metro area would have about 682, against 889 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 839 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Providence-Warwick metro area at 1,708,161 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 675,395 households. Median household income in the Providence-Warwick metro area is $87,040, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 Providence-Warwick metro area scores 31 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #335 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 Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick 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.