Food and drink · County · Wisconsin
Bakeries and dessert shops in Waukesha County, WI
How Waukesha County, WI compares with other counties and the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #368 of 1,889 scored counties
#20 of 61 scored counties in Wisconsin
- Listings
- 143
- 52 chain locations (36%)
- Official establishments
- 112
- All snack bars and retail bakeries · +23.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $802.4M
- On food away from home · $4,758 a household
- Spending per listing
- $5.6M
- 35% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.5
- 13% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 417,210
- +2.4% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in Waukesha 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 Waukesha County. 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
At $4,758 per household (17% above the U.S. average), households in Waukesha County spend about $802.4M a year on food away from home. That is about $5.6M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 35% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
Waukesha County has 143 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 36% of them, against 35% across the U.S. That comes to 8.5 for every 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 112 businesses with payroll in Waukesha County classed as snack bars and retail bakeries, up 23.1% from 2019. That is one for every 1,506 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 also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $4.3M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Waukesha County.
Population estimates show Waukesha County grew 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For bakeries and dessert shops, Waukesha County has a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle): #368 of 1,889 scored counties and #20 of 61 scored counties in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How Waukesha County 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.
| Measure | Waukesha County | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.5 | 7.6 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $5.6M | $5.2M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,506 | 1,735 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +23.1% | +35.1% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,758 | $3,959 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $106,076 | $77,485 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 91 → 112All snack bars and retail bakeries · +23.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,312
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $23M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14352 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 194The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 9
- Amount
- $4.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in Waukesha 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 Waukesha County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 417,210+2.4% since 2020
- Households
- 168,658
- Median age
- 44.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 550 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 749
- Median household income
- $106,076+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $137,605
- Median home value
- $398,200
- Jobs located here
- 265,439
- Daytime population
- 468,429Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Waukesha 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 Waukesha County. 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 Wisconsin
Every Wisconsin market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Wisconsin for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Wisconsin, with Waukesha County marked.
Top counties in Wisconsin
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Washington County, WI | 83 | 26 | 4.6 | $9.6M | +1.8% | #57 of 1,889 |
| 2Pierce County, WI | 81 | 10 | 6.3 | $6.8M | +3.1% | #76 of 1,889 |
| 3Oconto County, WI | 81 | 10 | 5.9 | $6.4M | +2.9% | #77 of 1,889 |
| 4Clark County, WI | 77 | 5 | 3.9 | $9.3M | +1.2% | #124 of 1,889 |
| 5Calumet County, WI | 76 | 11 | 5.1 | $8.2M | +2.9% | #138 of 1,889 |
| 6St. Croix County, WI | 75 | 25 | 6.7 | $7M | +4.7% | #162 of 1,889 |
| 7Winnebago County, WI | 72 | 38 | 5.2 | $7.3M | +1.4% | #215 of 1,889 |
| 8Monroe County, WI | 70 | 5 | 2.7 | $13.4M | +0.6% | #251 of 1,889 |
| 9Jefferson County, WI | 70 | 19 | 5.4 | $7.3M | +0.3% | #255 of 1,889 |
| 10Fond du Lac County, WI | 70 | 23 | 5.3 | $7.2M | +0.5% | #257 of 1,889 |
| 20Waukesha County, WI | 66 | 143 | 8.5 | $5.6M | +2.4% | #368 of 1,889 |
Other business types in Waukesha County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes72
- Sit-down restaurants72
- Fast food and sandwich shops73
- Pizza76
- Coffee shops and cafes71
- Bakeries and dessert shops66
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 Waukesha County, WI?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 143 bakeries and dessert shops in Waukesha County. 52 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 112 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023, up 23.1% 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. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Waukesha County, WI spend on food away from home?
About $802.4M a year, or $4,758 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $5.6M 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 168,658 households in Waukesha County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Waukesha County, WI compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
Waukesha County has 8.5 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $5.6M, 35% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, Waukesha County would have about 194, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,506 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +24.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Waukesha County, WI growing?
Population estimates put Waukesha County at 417,210 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 168,658 households. The median household income in Waukesha County is $106,076 a year, 31% above 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. Waukesha County scores 66 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #368 of 1,889 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Waukesha 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 Waukesha County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Waukesha 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 Waukesha 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.