Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Wisconsin

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Sparta, WI area

How the Sparta, WI 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 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #28 of 507 scored small-town markets
#1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin

Listings
5
1 chain location (20%)
Official establishments
8
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$67M
On food away from home · $3,663 a household
Spending per listing
$13.4M
3.2 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.7
72% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
46,572
+0.6% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Sparta 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 Sparta 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

For bakeries and dessert shops, the Sparta area has a Groundwork market score of 75 (high): #28 of 507 scored small-town markets and #1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for bakeries and dessert shops.

Households in the Sparta area spend about $67M a year on food away from home, or $3,663 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $13.4M per shop, 3.2 times the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.

There are 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Sparta area as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 2.7 for every 10,000 households, 72% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Sparta area in 2023. That is one for every 2,288 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. Population estimates show the Sparta area grew 0.6% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Sparta area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Sparta, WI area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureSparta areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.77.69.8
Spending per listing$13.4M$5.2M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)2,2881,7351,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+35.1%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.6%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,663$3,959$4,070
Median household income$69,467$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score7564

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
131
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
7All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
51 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The 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 Sparta 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 Sparta area

Population, 2025 estimate
46,572+0.6% since 2020
Households
18,301
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
73%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
901 sq. mi.
People per square mile
51
Median household income
$69,467
Average household income
$87,535
Median home value
$210,000
Jobs located here
19,806
Daytime population
44,513Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Sparta 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 Sparta 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 Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Wisconsin for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Wisconsin, with the Sparta area marked.

Top small-town markets in Wisconsin

Small-town markets in Wisconsin ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sparta, WI7552.7$13.4M+0.6%#28 of 507
2Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI74195.4$7.3M+0.3%#32 of 507
3Beaver Dam, WI73246.7$5.7M−0.3%#39 of 507
4Stevens Point-Plover, WI69248.1$4.8M+2.2%#68 of 507
5Menomonie, WI67126.9$5.5M+1.7%#74 of 507
6Marinette, WI-MI65196.5$5.3M+0.3%#99 of 507
7Manitowoc, WI62277.7$4.8M+0.4%#120 of 507
8Platteville, WI54157.5$4.8M+0.9%#211 of 507
9Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI53216.5$5.5M−0.2%#218 of 507
10Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI484510.4$3.9M+0.8%#279 of 507

Other business types in the Sparta 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 Sparta, WI area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 5 bakeries and dessert shops in the Sparta area. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 8 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. Official counts also show 7 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Sparta, WI area spend on food away from home?

About $67M a year, or $3,663 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $13.4M 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 18,301 households in the Sparta area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Sparta area has 2.7 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 72% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $13.4M, 3.2 times the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Sparta area would have about 16, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,288 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sparta, WI area growing?

Population estimates put the Sparta area at 46,572 people in 2025, up 0.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,301 households. The median household income in the Sparta area is $69,467 a year, 14% below 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. 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 Sparta area scores 75 for bakeries and dessert shops (high), #28 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 Sparta 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 Sparta area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sparta 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 Sparta 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.