Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Texas

Bakeries and dessert shops in Harris County, TX

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in Harris County, TX, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,161 of 1,889 scored counties
#76 of 147 scored counties in Texas

Listings
2,137
890 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
1,366
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +19.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$6.9B
On food away from home · $3,922 a household
Spending per listing
$3.2M
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.2
24% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,045,026
+6.6% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Harris 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 Harris County. 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 Harris County spend about $6.9B a year on food away from home, or $3,922 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.2M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 22% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 2,137 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in Harris County as of September 2026. Of those, 890 are chain locations, or 42%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 12.2 per 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,366 businesses with payroll in Harris County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 19.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,286 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. Official counts list 513 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 77 SBA-backed loans worth $33.9M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Harris County.

Population estimates put the population change in Harris County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, Harris County has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #1,161 of 1,889 scored counties and #76 of 147 scored counties in Texas.

How Harris County 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Harris County, TX compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureHarris CountyTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.211.89.8
Spending per listing$3.2M$3.4M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,2861,3351,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+19.9%+37.6%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,922$3,970$4,070
Median household income$74,983$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score4445

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,139 → 1,366All snack bars and retail bakeries · +19.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
14,914
Annual payroll, 2023
$322.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
513All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,137890 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,663The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
77
Amount
$33.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Harris 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 Harris County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,045,026+6.6% since 2020
Households
1,757,164
Median age
35.5
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,707 sq. mi.
People per square mile
2,834
Median household income
$74,983+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$111,440
Median home value
$276,600
Jobs located here
2,547,424
Daytime population
5,303,910Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Harris 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 Harris County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Texas for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Texas, with Harris County marked.

Top counties in Texas

Counties in Texas ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waller County, TX90126.5$6.3M+21.9%#17 of 1,889
2Guadalupe County, TX80416.3$6.7M+15.8%#86 of 1,889
3Bastrop County, TX78277.3$5.5M+21.3%#118 of 1,889
4Medina County, TX76116.2$6.2M+11.4%#144 of 1,889
5Llano County, TX7487.4$5.1M+9.5%#195 of 1,889
6Wilson County, TX73158.2$5.1M+12.2%#210 of 1,889
7San Jacinto County, TX7165.5$6.2M+7.1%#240 of 1,889
8Coryell County, TX68176.3$5.6M+3.0%#316 of 1,889
9Aransas County, TX6797.2$5M+9.3%#342 of 1,889
10Fannin County, TX65129.4$3.9M+9.2%#404 of 1,889
76Harris County, TX442,13712.2$3.2M+6.6%#1,161 of 1,889

Other business types in Harris County

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

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in Harris County, TX?

As of September 2026, map listings count 2,137 bakeries and dessert shops in Harris County. 890 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 1,366 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 19.9% 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 513 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Harris County, TX spend on food away from home?

About $6.9B a year, or $3,922 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,137 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.2M 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 1,757,164 households in Harris County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Harris County, TX compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

Harris County has 12.2 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 24% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.2M, 22% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Harris County would have about 1,663, against 2,137 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,286 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 19.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is Harris County, TX growing?

Population estimates put Harris County at 5,045,026 people in 2025, up 6.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,757,164 households. The median household income in Harris County is $74,983 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.5% 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. Harris County scores 44 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #1,161 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Harris 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 Harris County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Harris 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 Harris 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.