Food and drink · County · Tennessee
Bakeries and dessert shops in Knox County, TN
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in Knox County, TN, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #589 of 1,889 scored counties
#33 of 61 scored counties in Tennessee
- Listings
- 171
- 80 chain locations (47%)
- Official establishments
- 131
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +57.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $769.5M
- On food away from home · $3,826 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.5M
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.5
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 511,453
- +6.5% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Knox County
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 Knox County. 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
At $3,826 per household (6% below the U.S. average), households in Knox County spend about $769.5M a year on food away from home. Spread across 171 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.5M per shop, 9% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Knox County has 171 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 47% of them, against 35% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.5, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 131 businesses with payroll in Knox County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 57.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,535 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Another 28 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $4.7M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Knox County.
Population estimates put the population change in Knox County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, Knox County has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #589 of 1,889 scored counties and #33 of 61 scored counties in Tennessee.
How Knox County compares
The same measures for Tennessee 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 | Knox County | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.5 | 8.2 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.5M | $4.5M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,535 | 1,740 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +57.8% | +60.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.5% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,826 | $3,670 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $74,222 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 83 → 131All snack bars and retail bakeries · +57.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,383
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $41.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 28All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 17180 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 186The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 12
- Amount
- $4.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Knox County, 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 Knox County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 511,453+6.5% since 2020
- Households
- 201,146
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 508 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 972
- Median household income
- $74,222+29.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,460
- Median home value
- $320,900
- Jobs located here
- 270,203
- Daytime population
- 541,810Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Knox County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Knox County. 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Knox County marked.
Top counties in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayette County, TN | 93 | 5 | 2.9 | $13.8M | +7.7% | #5 of 1,889 |
| 2Roane County, TN | 86 | 8 | 3.5 | $10.3M | +7.0% | #33 of 1,889 |
| 3Cheatham County, TN | 84 | 5 | 3.1 | $12.9M | +4.1% | #54 of 1,889 |
| 4Jefferson County, TN | 82 | 10 | 4.6 | $7.6M | +9.3% | #69 of 1,889 |
| 5Loudon County, TN | 81 | 14 | 5.8 | $6.8M | +15.6% | #75 of 1,889 |
| 6Robertson County, TN | 78 | 16 | 5.7 | $6.8M | +9.9% | #109 of 1,889 |
| 7Sumner County, TN | 78 | 51 | 6.5 | $6.4M | +9.2% | #114 of 1,889 |
| 8Hawkins County, TN | 77 | 8 | 3.4 | $9.3M | +5.0% | #123 of 1,889 |
| 9Giles County, TN | 74 | 7 | 5.8 | $6M | +3.6% | #185 of 1,889 |
| 10Bedford County, TN | 74 | 13 | 6.7 | $5.2M | +9.7% | #193 of 1,889 |
| 33Knox County, TN | 59 | 171 | 8.5 | $4.5M | +6.5% | #589 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Knox County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes50
- Sit-down restaurants51
- Fast food and sandwich shops45
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes59
- Bakeries and dessert shops59
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 Knox County, TN?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 171 bakeries and dessert shops in Knox County. 80 of them (47%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 131 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 57.8% 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 list 28 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Knox County, TN spend on food away from home?
About $769.5M a year, or $3,826 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 171 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.5M 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 201,146 households in Knox County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Knox County, TN compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Knox County has 8.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.5M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Knox County would have about 186, against 171 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,535 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 57.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Knox County, TN growing?
Population estimates put Knox County at 511,453 people in 2025, up 6.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 201,146 households. The median household income in Knox County is $74,222 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.2% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Knox County scores 59 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #589 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Knox County. 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 Knox County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Knox County?
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 Knox County. 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.