Market rankings · South Carolina
Bakeries and dessert shops in South Carolina
Every metro area, small-town market and county in South Carolina, ranked by the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, with competitor counts and household spending for each.
- Listings
- 1,697
- 682 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 876
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +29.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $7.8B
- On food away from home
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.0
- 18% below the U.S.
- Spending per listing
- $4.6M
- 10% above the U.S.
- Rank among states
- #9 of 51
- Market score 67 · Upper middle
A site report maps the bakeries and dessert shops on map listings around any address in South Carolina by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
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
There are 1,697 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in South Carolina as of September 2026. 682 of them (40%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 8.0 per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
At $3,660 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in South Carolina spend about $7.8B a year on food away from home. That is about $4.6M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 10% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in South Carolina was 876 in 2023, up 29.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,418 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 24.6% over the same years. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Since fiscal 2022, 70 SBA-backed loans worth $32.4M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in South Carolina.
Among the 50 states and DC, South Carolina ranks #9 for bakeries and dessert shops, with a Groundwork market score of 67 (upper middle). Of the 10 scored metro areas in or partly in South Carolina, the Spartanburg metro area scores highest (76). Of the 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in South Carolina, the Seneca area scores highest (87).
Every market in South Carolina for bakeries and dessert shops
Download the ranking (CSV)Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in South Carolina, 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
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spartanburg, SC | 76 | 86 | 6.0 | $5.8M | +14.3% | #13 of 387 |
| 2Columbia, SC | 73 | 240 | 7.1 | $5.1M | +6.0% | #24 of 387 |
| 3Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 71 | 290 | 7.6 | $4.9M | +9.0% | #32 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 70 | 164 | 7.1 | $5.2M | +4.7% | #40 of 387 |
| 4Sumter, SC | 64 | 17 | 4.1 | $7.9M | −0.3% | #78 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 64 | 990 | 9.2 | $4.5M | +10.1% | #85 of 387 |
| 5Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 64 | 92 | 9.6 | $4.3M | +12.0% | #86 of 387 |
| 6Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 64 | 340 | 10.1 | $4.1M | +10.7% | #87 of 387 |
| 7Florence, SC | 44 | 63 | 8.0 | $4.1M | +0.9% | #250 of 387 |
| 8Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 35 | 246 | 15.5 | $2.3M | +20.9% | #314 of 387 |
Small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Seneca, SC | 87 | 11 | 3.2 | $11M | +6.3% | #5 of 507 |
| 2Newberry, SC | 76 | 8 | 5.2 | $6.2M | +4.8% | #25 of 507 |
| 3Murrells Inlet, SC | 68 | 21 | 7.7 | $4.8M | +3.8% | #71 of 507 |
| 4Orangeburg, SC | 66 | 8 | 2.4 | $12.3M | −0.9% | #78 of 507 |
| 5Greenwood, SC | 61 | 26 | 6.9 | $4.6M | +1.7% | #137 of 507 |
| 6Gaffney, SC | 60 | 16 | 7.3 | $4.2M | +3.7% | #150 of 507 |
Counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Berkeley County, SC | 87 | 55 | 5.9 | $6.7M | +18.7% | #32 of 1,889 |
| 2Kershaw County, SC | 85 | 9 | 3.3 | $10.6M | +11.6% | #44 of 1,889 |
| 3Oconee County, SC | 82 | 11 | 3.2 | $11M | +6.3% | #65 of 1,889 |
| 4Dorchester County, SC | 82 | 45 | 7.1 | $5.5M | +10.1% | #70 of 1,889 |
| 5Aiken County, SC | 81 | 44 | 6.3 | $5.8M | +7.3% | #78 of 1,889 |
| 6Lancaster County, SC | 80 | 32 | 8.0 | $4.9M | +18.3% | #94 of 1,889 |
| 7Anderson County, SC | 79 | 38 | 4.5 | $7.8M | +7.7% | #98 of 1,889 |
| 8Laurens County, SC | 78 | 5 | 1.9 | $17.1M | +6.2% | #103 of 1,889 |
| 9Lexington County, SC | 77 | 85 | 7.0 | $5.4M | +7.7% | #134 of 1,889 |
| 10Spartanburg County, SC | 74 | 82 | 6.2 | $5.6M | +15.6% | #188 of 1,889 |
| 11Newberry County, SC | 73 | 8 | 5.2 | $6.2M | +4.8% | #203 of 1,889 |
| 12York County, SC | 72 | 99 | 8.7 | $4.8M | +8.1% | #225 of 1,889 |
| 13Colleton County, SC | 68 | 8 | 4.9 | $6.5M | +2.2% | #307 of 1,889 |
| 14Darlington County, SC | 65 | 11 | 4.3 | $7.2M | +0.1% | #382 of 1,889 |
| 15Orangeburg County, SC | 64 | 8 | 2.4 | $12.3M | −0.9% | #407 of 1,889 |
| 16Sumter County, SC | 64 | 17 | 4.1 | $7.9M | −0.3% | #409 of 1,889 |
| 17Georgetown County, SC | 63 | 21 | 7.7 | $4.8M | +3.8% | #454 of 1,889 |
| 18Richland County, SC | 60 | 137 | 8.2 | $4.4M | +4.6% | #556 of 1,889 |
| 19Greenville County, SC | 60 | 206 | 9.3 | $4.2M | +10.6% | #557 of 1,889 |
| 20Pickens County, SC | 59 | 41 | 7.8 | $4.3M | +5.7% | #590 of 1,889 |
| 21Beaufort County, SC | 58 | 89 | 10.8 | $3.9M | +8.9% | #634 of 1,889 |
| 22Clarendon County, SC | 56 | 5 | 4.0 | $7.6M | +0.7% | #678 of 1,889 |
| 23Cherokee County, SC | 56 | 16 | 7.3 | $4.2M | +3.7% | #710 of 1,889 |
| 24Abbeville County, SC | 55 | 6 | 6.1 | $5.4M | +2.3% | #727 of 1,889 |
| 25Greenwood County, SC | 53 | 20 | 7.2 | $4.4M | +1.5% | #820 of 1,889 |
Show all 46 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26Chester County, SC | 52 | 7 | 5.3 | $5.7M | +2.2% | #842 of 1,889 |
| 27Barnwell County, SC | 50 | 5 | 6.2 | $4.9M | +0.4% | #922 of 1,889 |
| 28Charleston County, SC | 48 | 240 | 13.4 | $3.2M | +6.4% | #1,015 of 1,889 |
| 29Marion County, SC | 43 | 5 | 4.1 | $6.4M | −2.9% | #1,167 of 1,889 |
| 30Saluda County, SC | 42 | 6 | 7.8 | $4.1M | +4.1% | #1,215 of 1,889 |
| 31Florence County, SC | 39 | 52 | 9.8 | $3.4M | +1.2% | #1,330 of 1,889 |
| 32Horry County, SC | 38 | 246 | 15.5 | $2.3M | +20.9% | #1,386 of 1,889 |
| 33Williamsburg County, SC | 33 | 7 | 5.7 | $5M | −4.0% | #1,524 of 1,889 |
| 34Hampton County, SC | 25 | 5 | 6.9 | $4.1M | −1.9% | #1,730 of 1,889 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Not scored | 2 | 1.1 | $26.5M | +3.4% | |
| Jasper County, SC | Not scored | 3 | 2.3 | $15.2M | +32.2% | |
| Dillon County, SC | Not scored | 2 | 1.8 | $15.7M | −2.9% | |
| Edgefield County, SC | Not scored | 3 | 3.1 | $11.6M | +16.1% | |
| Union County, SC | Not scored | 4 | 3.4 | $8.2M | −1.4% | |
| Marlboro County, SC | Not scored | 3 | 3.1 | $8.5M | −3.8% | |
| Fairfield County, SC | Not scored | 2 | 2.2 | $13.9M | −2.6% | |
| Lee County, SC | Not scored | 4 | 6.3 | $4.3M | −5.0% | |
| Calhoun County, SC | Not scored | 1 | 1.6 | $20.4M | +0.6% | |
| Bamberg County, SC | Not scored | 1 | 2.2 | $13.1M | −3.5% | |
| McCormick County, SC | Not scored | 1 | 2.4 | $13.1M | +7.3% | |
| Allendale County, SC | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −7.4% |
Markets with fewer than 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.
Questions
How many bakeries and dessert shops are in South Carolina?
As of September 2026, map listings count 1,697 bakeries and dessert shops in South Carolina. 682 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 876 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 29.4% from 2019. 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 248 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in South Carolina spend on food away from home?
About $7.8B a year, or $3,660 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,697 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.6M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,117,989 households in South Carolina and national spending patterns by income.
How does South Carolina compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
South Carolina has 8.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 18% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.6M, 10% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, South Carolina would have about 1,871, against 1,697 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,418 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 29.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
Which market in South Carolina has the highest market score for bakeries and dessert shops?
Among 10 scored metro areas in or partly in South Carolina, the Spartanburg metro area scores highest, at 76 (high). Among 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in South Carolina, the Seneca area scores highest, at 87 (high). Among 34 scored counties in South Carolina, Berkeley County scores highest, at 87 (high). 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. South Carolina scores 67 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #9 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 South Carolina. 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
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Top markets for bakeries and dessert shops across the U.S. · All business types in South Carolina
Related business types in South Carolina
- Restaurants and cafes21,961 listings
- Sit-down restaurants12,688 listings
- Fast food and sandwich shops3,144 listings
- Pizza1,608 listings
- Coffee shops and cafes1,778 listings
Screening a site or an acquisition in South Carolina?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
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.