Food and drink · Small-town market · Texas
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Athens, TX area
How the Athens, TX 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 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #263 of 507 scored small-town markets
#10 of 39 scored small-town markets based in Texas
- Listings
- 38
- 9 chain locations (24%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $116.9M
- On food away from home · $3,482 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.3
- 15% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 88,595
- +7.5% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Athens 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 Athens 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 38 bakeries and dessert shops in the Athens area. 9 of them (24%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 11.3 per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
Households in the Athens area spend about $116.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,482 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 26% 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.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Athens area was 15 in 2023. That is one for every 2,238 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. Official counts also show 16 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $1.1M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Athens area.
Population estimates show the Athens area grew 7.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Athens area scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #263 of 507 scored small-town markets and #10 of 39 scored small-town markets based in Texas.
How the Athens area compares
The same measures for Texas 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 | Athens area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.3 | 11.8 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $3.4M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 2,238 | 1,335 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +37.6% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.5% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,482 | $3,970 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $65,179 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 58
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 16All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 389 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 28The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Athens 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 Athens area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 88,595+7.5% since 2020
- Households
- 33,575
- Median age
- 43.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 874 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 97
- Median household income
- $65,179+37.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,325
- Median home value
- $211,300
- Jobs located here
- 19,641
- Daytime population
- 73,197Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Athens 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 Athens 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Texas for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Athens area marked.
Top small-town markets in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bonham, TX | 70 | 12 | 9.4 | $3.9M | +9.2% | #58 of 507 |
| 2Sulphur Springs, TX | 68 | 11 | 7.9 | $4.6M | +6.1% | #72 of 507 |
| 3Big Spring, TX | 60 | 8 | 6.6 | $5.5M | −12.4% | #142 of 507 |
| 4El Campo, TX | 60 | 16 | 10.1 | $3.6M | +1.2% | #152 of 507 |
| 5Port Lavaca, TX | 56 | 7 | 8.1 | $4.8M | −2.3% | #188 of 507 |
| 6Brenham, TX | 56 | 22 | 14.2 | $2.7M | +7.0% | #195 of 507 |
| 7Del Rio, TX | 55 | 11 | 6.5 | $5.1M | +0.5% | #203 of 507 |
| 8Granbury, TX | 54 | 30 | 11.8 | $3.5M | +13.6% | #216 of 507 |
| 9Brownwood, TX | 53 | 11 | 7.3 | $4.4M | +1.7% | #223 of 507 |
| 10Athens, TX | 50 | 38 | 11.3 | $3.1M | +7.5% | #263 of 507 |
Other business types in the Athens area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes48
- Sit-down restaurants47
- Fast food and sandwich shops44
- Pizza59
- Coffee shops and cafes61
- Bakeries and dessert shops50
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 Athens, TX area?
There are 38 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Athens area as of September 2026. 9 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 15 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. Another 16 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Athens, TX area spend on food away from home?
About $116.9M a year, or $3,482 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 38 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 33,575 households in the Athens area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Athens, TX area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Athens area has 11.3 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.1M, 26% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Athens area would have about 28, against 38 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,238 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Athens, TX area growing?
Population estimates put the Athens area at 88,595 people in 2025, up 7.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 33,575 households. Median household income in the Athens area is $65,179, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 37.6%, 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 Athens area scores 50 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #263 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 Athens 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 Athens area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens 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 Athens 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.