Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Tennessee

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area

The bakeries and dessert shops in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #83 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee

Listings
724
294 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
593
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +60.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$3.4B
On food away from home · $4,121 a household
Spending per listing
$4.7M
14% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.7
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,197,416
+8.7% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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

Households in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area spend about $3.4B a year on food away from home, or $4,121 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $4.7M per shop, 14% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 724 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 294 are chain locations, or 41%, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.7 for every 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 593 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area in 2023, up 60.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,398 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 146 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 29 SBA-backed loans worth $14.3M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +8.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area is 64 (upper middle), #83 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureNashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro areaTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.78.29.8
Spending per listing$4.7M$4.5M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,3981,7401,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+60.4%+60.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+8.7%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,121$3,670$4,070
Median household income$85,447$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score6456

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
593All snack bars and retail bakeries · +60.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
7,446
Annual payroll, 2023
$146.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
146All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
724294 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
825The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
29
Amount
$14.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,197,416+8.7% since 2020
Households
829,134
Median age
38.1
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
6,302 sq. mi.
People per square mile
330
Median household income
$85,447
Average household income
$117,563
Median home value
$409,600
Jobs located here
1,132,736
Daytime population
2,203,082Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Tennessee for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Tennessee

Metro areas in Tennessee ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Knoxville, TN692657.0$5.3M+6.9%#45 of 387
2Chattanooga, TN-GA651777.7$4.9M+5.3%#73 of 387
3Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN647248.7$4.7M+8.7%#83 of 387
4Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA63826.3$5.3M+2.3%#90 of 387
5Clarksville, TN-KY60917.3$4.8M+8.5%#116 of 387
6Cleveland, TN57377.4$4.7M+6.1%#142 of 387
7Johnson City, TN54667.4$4.4M+4.3%#165 of 387
8Morristown, TN54398.1$4.1M+7.9%#166 of 387
9Memphis, TN-MS-AR464348.3$4.4M−0.3%#235 of 387
10Jackson, TN40567.7$4.3M+2.2%#276 of 387

Other business types in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 724 bakeries and dessert shops in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area. 294 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 593 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 60.4% 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 list 146 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area spend on food away from home?

About $3.4B a year, or $4,121 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 724 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 829,134 households in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area has 8.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 14% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area would have about 825, against 724 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,398 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 60.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area at 2,197,416 people in 2025, up 8.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 829,134 households. The median household income in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area is $85,447 a year, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area scores 64 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #83 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin 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.