Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Texas

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #229 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
3,230
1,377 chain locations (43%)
Official establishments
2,032
All snack bars and retail bakeries · +26.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$10.9B
On food away from home · $4,112 a household
Spending per listing
$3.4M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.1
23% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
7,904,627
+10.3% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area spend about $10.9B a year on food away from home, or $4,112 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $3.4M per shop, 18% 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 3,230 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area as of September 2026. 1,377 of them (43%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 12.1 for every 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 2,032 businesses with payroll in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 26.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,310 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 802 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 142 SBA-backed loans worth $62.8M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +10.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area is 47 (lower middle), #229 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas.

How the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.111.89.8
Spending per listing$3.4M$3.4M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,3101,3351,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+26.9%+37.6%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.3%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,112$3,970$4,070
Median household income$82,168$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score4745

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
2,032All snack bars and retail bakeries · +26.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
21,424
Annual payroll, 2023
$446.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
802All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3,2301,377 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,642The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
142
Amount
$62.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
7,904,627+10.3% since 2020
Households
2,661,739
Median age
36.4
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
8,839 sq. mi.
People per square mile
842
Median household income
$82,168
Average household income
$117,837
Median home value
$298,000
Jobs located here
3,347,878
Daytime population
7,510,084Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Texas

Metro areas in Texas ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX659789.9$4.6M+14.0%#76 of 387
2San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX491,03910.7$3.6M+9.5%#207 of 387
3Midland, TX488412.1$3.6M+9.8%#217 of 387
4Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX483,59212.4$3.5M+10.6%#218 of 387
5Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX473,23012.1$3.4M+10.3%#229 of 387
6Killeen-Temple, TX461578.8$4M+7.2%#238 of 387
7Sherman-Denison, TX446511.8$3.2M+12.8%#255 of 387
8Odessa, TX436910.7$3.5M+5.0%#261 of 387
9Corpus Christi, TX371669.8$3.7M+1.1%#295 of 387
10College Station-Bryan, TX3611010.4$3.4M+6.9%#306 of 387

Other business types in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 3,230 bakeries and dessert shops in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area. 1,377 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 2,032 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 26.9% 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 802 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area spend on food away from home?

About $10.9B a year, or $4,112 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 3,230 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $3.4M 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 2,661,739 households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area has 12.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 23% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area would have about 2,642, against 3,230 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,310 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 26.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area at 7,904,627 people in 2025, up 10.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,661,739 households. The median household income in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area is $82,168 a year, 2% 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area scores 47 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #229 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.