Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · West Virginia

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Elkins, WV area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for bakeries and dessert shops in the Elkins, WV area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #168 of 507 scored small-town markets
#2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia

Listings
5
1 chain location (20%)
Official establishments
3
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$34M
On food away from home · $3,184 a household
Spending per listing
$6.8M
64% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.7
52% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
26,882
−3.6% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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 Elkins area spend about $34M a year on food away from home, or $3,184 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That is about $6.8M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 64% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

The Elkins area has 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 4.7 for every 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Elkins area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 3,559 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.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elkins area declined 3.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For bakeries and dessert shops, the Elkins area has a Groundwork market score of 58 (upper middle): #168 of 507 scored small-town markets and #2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia.

How the Elkins area compares

The same measures for West 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Elkins, WV area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureElkins areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.77.19.8
Spending per listing$6.8M$4.7M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)3,5592,7091,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+34.5%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,184$3,343$4,070
Median household income$52,757$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score5849

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
9
Annual payroll, 2023
$142K
One-person businesses, 2023
0All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
51 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Elkins 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 Elkins area

Population, 2025 estimate
26,882−3.6% since 2020
Households
10,678
Median age
44.6
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,040 sq. mi.
People per square mile
27
Median household income
$52,757+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,437
Median home value
$144,800
Jobs located here
10,659
Daytime population
26,808Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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 West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in West Virginia for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Elkins area marked.

Top small-town markets in West Virginia

Small-town markets in West Virginia ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Fairmont, WV66135.6$6.2M−1.2%#82 of 507
2Elkins, WV5854.7$6.8M−3.6%#168 of 507
3Bluefield, WV-VA50266.4$4.8M−3.8%#255 of 507
Cumberland, MD-WV43359.1$3.6M−1.3%#328 of 507
4Clarksburg, WV33349.6$3.6M−2.4%#426 of 507

Other business types in the Elkins 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 Elkins, WV area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 bakeries and dessert shops in the Elkins area. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. The official count takes in all snack bars and retail bakeries, not only bakeries and dessert shops: coffee shops and cafes are counted too.

How much do households in the Elkins, WV area spend on food away from home?

About $34M a year, or $3,184 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $6.8M 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 10,678 households in the Elkins area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Elkins, WV area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Elkins area has 4.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $6.8M, 64% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Elkins area would have about 8, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,559 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Elkins, WV area growing?

Population estimates put the Elkins area at 26,882 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,678 households. The median household income in the Elkins area is $52,757 a year, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.8% 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. 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 Elkins area scores 58 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #168 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 Elkins 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 Elkins area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elkins 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 Elkins 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.