Food and drink · Metro area · Virginia
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area
How the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #106 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 602
- 249 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 355
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +24.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.8B
- On food away from home · $4,014 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 14% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.5
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,797,213
- +0.9% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 602 bakeries and dessert shops in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. Chain locations make up 41% 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.
Household spending on food away from home in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area comes to about $2.8B a year: $4,014 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 602 bakeries and dessert shops, that is $4.7M per shop, 14% above 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area was 355 in 2023, up 24.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,993 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. Another 43 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 14 SBA-backed loans worth $7.4M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #106 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area compares
The same measures for Virginia 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 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $5.2M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,993 | 2,020 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +24.8% | +21.9% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.9% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,014 | $4,372 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $82,330 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 80 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 355All snack bars and retail bakeries · +24.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,878
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $91M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 43All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 602249 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 685The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 14
- Amount
- $7.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,797,213+0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 707,408
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 3,202 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 558
- Median household income
- $82,330
- Average household income
- $108,120
- Median home value
- $340,900
- Jobs located here
- 729,464
- Daytime population
- 1,773,219Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Richmond, VA | 84 | 399 | 7.5 | $5.6M | +5.5% | #3 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 75 | 2,192 | 9.2 | $5.6M | +3.3% | #17 of 387 |
| 2Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 70 | 34 | 6.5 | $5.6M | +3.2% | #39 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 63 | 82 | 6.3 | $5.3M | +2.3% | #90 of 387 |
| 3Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 61 | 602 | 8.5 | $4.7M | +0.9% | #106 of 387 |
| 4Winchester, VA-WV | 60 | 64 | 11.5 | $3.5M | +6.5% | #124 of 387 |
| 5Roanoke, VA | 59 | 93 | 7.1 | $5.1M | +0.4% | #126 of 387 |
| 6Lynchburg, VA | 53 | 83 | 8.0 | $4.4M | +2.9% | #175 of 387 |
| 7Charlottesville, VA | 52 | 95 | 10.5 | $4.2M | +3.1% | #184 of 387 |
| 8Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 50 | 58 | 8.3 | $4.3M | −0.1% | #197 of 387 |
Other business types in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes48
- Sit-down restaurants40
- Fast food and sandwich shops42
- Pizza47
- Coffee shops and cafes65
- Bakeries and dessert shops61
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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area?
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 602 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 249 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 355 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 24.8% from 2019. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts list 43 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area spend on food away from home?
About $2.8B a year, or $4,014 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 602 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 707,408 households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 8.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.7M, 14% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area would have about 685, against 602 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,993 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 24.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area at 1,797,213 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 707,408 households. Median household income in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area is $82,330, 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 61 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #106 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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.