Food and drink · Small-town market · South Dakota
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Brookings, SD area
How the Brookings, SD 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 81 out of 100: High
Ranked #10 of 507 scored small-town markets
#1 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota
- Listings
- 8
- 1 chain location (13%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $51.8M
- On food away from home · $3,756 a household
- Spending per listing
- $6.5M
- 56% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.8
- 41% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,635
- +9.6% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Brookings 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 Brookings 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
For bakeries and dessert shops, the Brookings area has a Groundwork market score of 81 (high): #10 of 507 scored small-town markets and #1 of 7 scored small-town markets based in South Dakota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for bakeries and dessert shops.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 bakeries and dessert shops in the Brookings area. One of them (13%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That is 5.8 per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Households in the Brookings area spend about $51.8M a year on food away from home, or $3,756 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. That works out to $6.5M per shop, 56% above 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 Brookings area was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 2,300 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, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $954K have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Brookings area. Population estimates show the Brookings area grew 9.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Brookings area compares
The same measures for South Dakota 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 | Brookings area | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.8 | 6.9 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $6.5M | $5.6M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 2,300 | 1,329 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +41.0% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +9.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,756 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $70,064 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 81 | 67 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 127
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 81 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 13The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $954K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Brookings 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 Brookings area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,635+9.6% since 2020
- Households
- 13,798
- Median age
- 31.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 792 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 45
- Median household income
- $70,064+20.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,400
- Median home value
- $264,600
- Jobs located here
- 19,000
- Daytime population
- 37,385Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Brookings 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 Brookings 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 South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Dakota for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with the Brookings area marked.
Top small-town markets in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brookings, SD | 81 | 8 | 5.8 | $6.5M | +9.6% | #10 of 507 |
| 2Watertown, SD | 71 | 6 | 4.8 | $7.6M | +4.3% | #48 of 507 |
| 3Pierre, SD | 71 | 6 | 7.0 | $5.6M | −0.5% | #54 of 507 |
| 4Aberdeen, SD | 68 | 9 | 5.0 | $7.5M | −1.5% | #69 of 507 |
| 5Spearfish, SD | 66 | 7 | 5.8 | $6.4M | +14.0% | #80 of 507 |
| 6Huron, SD | 60 | 5 | 6.6 | $5.4M | +2.4% | #143 of 507 |
| 7Mitchell, SD | 59 | 5 | 4.6 | $7.9M | +0.6% | #153 of 507 |
Other business types in the Brookings area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes56
- Sit-down restaurants65
- Fast food and sandwich shops64
- Pizza42
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops81
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 Brookings, SD area?
There are 8 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Brookings area as of September 2026. One of them (13%) is a chain location. 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 Brookings, SD area spend on food away from home?
About $51.8M a year, or $3,756 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6.5M 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 13,798 households in the Brookings area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Brookings, SD area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Brookings area has 5.8 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6.5M, 56% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Brookings area would have about 13, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,300 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Brookings, SD area growing?
Population estimates put the Brookings area at 37,635 people in 2025, up 9.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,798 households. Median household income in the Brookings area is $70,064, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.5%, 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 Brookings area scores 81 for bakeries and dessert shops (high), #10 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 Brookings 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 Brookings area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brookings 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 Brookings 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.