Bakery statistics show a large and varied U.S. food sector. In 2022, bread and bakery product manufacturing alone reported more than $52.4 billion in sales, value of shipments, or revenue, while retail bakeries added thousands of smaller employer establishments. The labor market is also substantial: the Bureau of Labor Statistics counted about 262,400 baker jobs in 2025. Together, these figures describe an industry that connects neighborhood shops, large manufacturers, workers, flour demand, and international wheat markets.
Contents
- U.S. bakery industry footprint
- Retail bakery business structure
- Bakery jobs and wages
- Employment outlook for bakers
- Wheat flour consumption
- Commercial baking supply-chain scale
- U.S. wheat trade and bakery context
U.S. bakery industry footprint
The 2022 U.S. Economic Census counted 11,024 firms in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing. Those firms operated 11,979 establishments and reported $84,055,439,000 in sales, value of shipments, or revenue. The sector’s annual payroll was $13,383,207,000, and employment reached 294,416 people in the 2022 Economic Census reference year. These totals cover bakeries and tortilla manufacturing together, so they are broader than bakery-only measures. U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturing: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2022
Bread and bakery product manufacturing is a narrower category within that footprint. It included 9,932 firms and 10,693 establishments in 2022. The category generated $52,447,439,000 in sales, value of shipments, or revenue, paid $9,411,403,000 in annual payroll, and employed 219,001 people. This category therefore captures a major share of the broader bakery-and-tortilla manufacturing base while remaining distinct from retail bakeries and other food-service businesses. U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturing: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2022
Frozen cakes, pies, and other pastries manufacturing was another separately measured segment in 2022. It included 214 firms and 251 establishments. These manufacturers reported $8,165,134,000 in sales, value of shipments, or revenue, with $1,232,281,000 in annual payroll and 25,223 employees. The figures illustrate how frozen desserts and pastries form a distinct manufacturing activity alongside bread and bakery products. U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturing: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2022
| 2022 manufacturing category | Firms | Establishments | Revenue or shipments | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing | 11,024 | 11,979 | $84,055,439,000 | 294,416 |
| Bread and bakery product manufacturing | 9,932 | 10,693 | $52,447,439,000 | 219,001 |
| Frozen cakes, pies, and other pastries | 214 | 251 | $8,165,134,000 | 25,223 |
Retail bakery business structure
Retail bakeries had 9,219 employer establishments in the United States in 2023, according to the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns. They paid $2,389,649,000 in annual payroll. The size breakdown shows a business landscape dominated by small establishments, with progressively fewer businesses in the larger employment bands. U.S. Census Bureau, CB2300CBP: All Sectors: County Business Patterns, 2023
Retail bakeries with fewer than 5 employees accounted for 4,432 establishments and $257,810,000 in annual payroll. The 5-to-9 employee group included 1,954 establishments and reported $334,188,000 in payroll. The 10-to-19 employee group had 1,581 establishments and $551,139,000 in payroll.
Larger employer establishments were less numerous but represented substantial payroll totals. Retail bakeries with 20 to 49 employees numbered 1,037 and reported $754,664,000 in annual payroll. The 50-to-99 employee group included 185 establishments and $354,104,000 in payroll. The 100-to-249 employee group had 30 establishments and $137,744,000 in payroll. All of these measurements refer to 2023 retail bakery employer establishments, not every bakery-related business or self-employed baker. U.S. Census Bureau, CB2300CBP: All Sectors: County Business Patterns, 2023
| Retail bakery employment band, 2023 | Establishments | Annual payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 employees | 4,432 | $257,810,000 |
| 5 to 9 employees | 1,954 | $334,188,000 |
| 10 to 19 employees | 1,581 | $551,139,000 |
| 20 to 49 employees | 1,037 | $754,664,000 |
| 50 to 99 employees | 185 | $354,104,000 |
| 100 to 249 employees | 30 | $137,744,000 |
Bakery jobs and wages
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported about 262,400 U.S. baker jobs in 2025. The median annual wage was $37,160 in May 2025. At the lower end of the wage distribution, the lowest-paid 10% earned below $28,120 annually. At the upper end, the highest-paid 10% earned above $49,020. These are national occupational wage measures for bakers, and the measurement date is May 2025. BLS, Bakers: Occupational Outlook Handbook
Median pay varied by the industry in which bakers worked. Special food services reported a $41,040 median annual wage in May 2025. Grocery and specialty food retailers reported $37,240, while bakeries and tortilla manufacturing reported $37,180. The figures are close for retail and bakery manufacturing, while the special-food-services median was higher in the BLS comparison.
The distribution of baker employment also crossed several settings. Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing employed 30% of U.S. bakers in 2025. Grocery and specialty food retail employed 23%, self-employed workers represented 10%, and special food services represented 2%. These shares describe the employment mix reported by BLS for the occupation and should not be confused with the establishment counts in County Business Patterns.
Employment outlook for bakers
BLS projects baker employment to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035. The projection represents a net increase of 14,500 baker jobs over that period. BLS also projects about 36,500 baker openings each year on average during the 2025–2035 decade. The annual openings figure includes opportunities created by employment growth and the need to replace workers leaving the occupation, while the 14,500 figure is the projected net change. BLS, Bakers: Occupational Outlook Handbook
The outlook is therefore measured in two different ways: growth describes the expected change in the number of jobs, while openings describe the flow of opportunities over the decade. Both measures use the 2025–2035 forecast period. The underlying 2025 occupational base was about 262,400 jobs, and the wage figures above use May 2025 estimates.
Wheat flour consumption
USDA Economic Research Service estimates U.S. per-capita wheat flour use at 126.6 pounds in 2025. For comparison, per-capita flour consumption was 134.4 pounds in 2005. USDA also reports that per-capita wheat consumption had rebounded to 147 pounds by 1997, after reaching a low of 110 pounds in 1972. These historical observations refer to different years and should be read as a long-term consumption series rather than a single-year trend estimate. USDA ERS, Wheat: Wheat Sector at a Glance
The longer historical record reaches back to 1879, when U.S. per-capita wheat consumption exceeded 225 pounds. It stood at 180 pounds in 1925. The 2025 estimate is below each of those historical levels supplied by USDA, while the 1997 figure is higher than the 2025 estimate. The numbers measure per-capita wheat or flour use as described by USDA, not the quantity of baked goods purchased from bakeries.
Commercial baking supply-chain scale
A 2021 USDA industry analysis describes the general U.S. baking industry as employing close to 800,000 skilled individuals and estimates its overall economic impact at more than $153 billion. Those broad figures describe the general baking industry in the analysis and are not directly interchangeable with the narrower 2022 Economic Census manufacturing counts or the 2025 BLS occupation count. USDA, Wheat Industry Analysis and Justification for Wheat Flour Foods Checkoff
The same analysis identifies 84 companies and 360 commercial baking plants using wheat flour for consumer products. It estimates that those commercial bakers consumed 102 million hundredweight of wheat flour annually. That amount represented close to 24% of wheat flour produced for food consumption. The commercial baking companies were also responsible for an estimated $19.8 billion in annual sales.
The analysis counted more than 100 baker-members in the American Bakers’ Association. Because these values come from a 2021 industry analysis, their period and scope should remain explicit when comparing them with later Census or BLS measurements. They help show the supply-chain scale behind consumer products made with wheat flour, including the role of commercial plants and large baking companies.
U.S. wheat trade and bakery context
USDA says the United States typically produces about 6% to 7% of the world’s wheat. For the 2025/26 international trade year, USDA forecasts the U.S. share of global wheat exports at around 11%. The production statement is a general description, while the export share is a forecast for a specified marketing year. USDA ERS, Wheat: Wheat Sector at a Glance
Across the 10 complete marketing years from 2015/16 through 2024/25, U.S. wheat-grain imports averaged 2.2 million metric tons. Over the same period, imports of wheat flour and wheat products averaged about 1.1 million metric tons annually when measured in wheat-grain equivalent. These are averages for completed marketing years, not forecasts for 2025/26.
The global trading system is concentrated among major exporter groups. Since 2000, six groups—the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and the former Soviet Union—accounted for nearly 90% of world wheat exports. For bakeries, these figures provide market context for the wheat and flour supply that supports bread, pastries, cakes, and other baked products, while leaving the production, employment, and consumption measures above in their original geographic and time frames. USDA ERS, Wheat: Wheat Sector at a Glance