Food and drink · Metro area · Connecticut
Bakeries and dessert shops in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area
How the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 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 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #246 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut
- Listings
- 516
- 217 chain locations (42%)
- Official establishments
- 433
- All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Household spending a year
- $2.1B
- On food away from home · $4,450 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4M
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.1
- 13% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,171,426
- +3.0% since 2020
See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area comes to about $2.1B a year: $4,450 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. That works out to $4M per shop, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops.
The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area has 516 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings as of September 2026. 217 of them (42%) are chain locations, against 35% across the U.S. That is 11.1 per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 9.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 433 businesses with payroll in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area classed as snack bars and retail bakeries. That is one for every 1,074 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 47 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $4.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area is 45 (lower middle), #246 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.
How the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area compares
The same measures for Connecticut 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 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.1 | 11.3 | 9.8 |
| Spending per listing | $4M | $4M | $4.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries) | 1,074 | 1,095 | 1,369 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.2% | +24.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.0% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,450 | $4,498 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $95,118 | $95,781 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 433All snack bars and retail bakeries
- Employees, 2023
- 6,337
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $116.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 47All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 516217 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 500The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 12
- Amount
- $4.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,171,426+3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 465,181
- Median age
- 42.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,452 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 794
- Median household income
- $95,118
- Average household income
- $127,867
- Median home value
- $333,500
- Jobs located here
- 597,826
- Daytime population
- 1,193,128Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Connecticut
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 60 | 163 | 9.0 | $4.6M | +3.2% | #119 of 387 |
| 2Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 47 | 438 | 12.3 | $4M | +3.7% | #226 of 387 |
| 3Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 45 | 516 | 11.1 | $4M | +3.0% | #246 of 387 |
| 4New Haven, CT | 42 | 254 | 11.0 | $3.9M | +2.5% | #263 of 387 |
| 5Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 36 | 148 | 12.8 | $3.3M | +2.0% | #307 of 387 |
Other business types in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes61
- Sit-down restaurants53
- Fast food and sandwich shops76
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes57
- Bakeries and dessert shops45
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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 516 bakeries and dessert shops in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area. 217 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 433 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. Another 47 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area spend on food away from home?
About $2.1B a year, or $4,450 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 516 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $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 465,181 households in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?
The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area has 11.1 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 13% above the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the U.S. ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area would have about 500, against 516 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,074 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.
How fast is the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area at 1,171,426 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 465,181 households. The median household income in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area is $95,118 a year, 18% 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area scores 45 for bakeries and dessert shops (lower middle), #246 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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.