Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Connecticut

Bakeries and dessert shops in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT

How the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 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 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #546 of 1,889 scored counties
#1 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut

Listings
163
54 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
117
All snack bars and retail bakeries
Household spending a year
$757.3M
On food away from home · $4,205 a household
Spending per listing
$4.6M
12% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.0
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
463,349
+3.2% since 2020

See the bakeries and dessert shops around any address in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region

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 Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 163 bakeries and dessert shops in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. Of those, 54 are chain locations, or 33%, against 35% across the U.S. That is 9.0 per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 9.8.

Households in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region spend about $757.3M a year on food away from home, or $4,205 per household, 3% above the U.S. average. That is about $4.6M of household spending for each shop on map listings, 12% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which bakeries and dessert shops share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 117 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region in 2023. That is one for every 1,539 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S. 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 list 19 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $2.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region.

Population estimates put the population change in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region from 2020 to 2025 at +3.2%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Naugatuck Valley Planning Region scores 60 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for bakeries and dessert shops, ranking #546 of 1,889 scored counties and #1 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut.

How the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region 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.

Bakeries and dessert shops in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNaugatuck Valley Planning RegionConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.011.39.8
Spending per listing$4.6M$4M$4.1M
Households per official establishment (all snack bars and retail bakeries)1,5391,0951,369
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+7.2%+24.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.2%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,205$4,498$4,070
Median household income$86,191$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score6048

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
117All snack bars and retail bakeries
Employees, 2023
1,409
Annual payroll, 2023
$31.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
19All snack bars and retail bakeries with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
16354 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
183The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$2.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, 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 Naugatuck Valley Planning Region

Population, 2025 estimate
463,349+3.2% since 2020
Households
180,116
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
413 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,102
Median household income
$86,191
Average household income
$114,324
Median home value
$317,700
Jobs located here
164,434
Daytime population
395,318Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region?

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 the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Bakeries and dessert shops across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for bakeries and dessert shops, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region marked.

Top counties in Connecticut

Counties in Connecticut ranked for bakeries and dessert shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT601639.0$4.6M+3.2%#546 of 1,889
2Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT5212610.5$4.2M+4.1%#857 of 1,889
3Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT525411.3$3.9M+2.2%#866 of 1,889
4Capitol Planning Region, CT5041410.6$4.2M+3.1%#934 of 1,889
5Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT4931213.3$4M+3.5%#967 of 1,889
6South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT4625411.0$3.9M+2.5%#1,081 of 1,889
7Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT4310213.8$3.4M+2.3%#1,197 of 1,889
8Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT424912.4$3.4M+3.0%#1,223 of 1,889
9Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT4014812.8$3.3M+2.0%#1,307 of 1,889

Other business types in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many bakeries and dessert shops are in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT?

There are 163 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region as of September 2026. 54 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count bakeries, ice cream, donut and dessert shops, candy stores. Official counts show 117 businesses with payroll classed as snack bars and retail bakeries in 2023. That count covers all snack bars and retail bakeries (coffee shops and cafes included), not only bakeries and dessert shops. Official counts also show 19 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT spend on food away from home?

About $757.3M a year, or $4,205 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 163 bakeries and dessert shops on map listings, it comes to $4.6M per shop. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only bakeries and dessert shops. It is estimated from the incomes of the 180,116 households in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for bakeries and dessert shops?

The Naugatuck Valley Planning Region has 9.0 bakeries and dessert shops per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 9.8. Spending per shop is $4.6M, 12% above the U.S. figure of $4.1M. At the national ratio of bakeries and dessert shops to household spending, the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region would have about 183, against 163 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,539 households, against one for every 1,369 across the U.S.

How fast is the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT growing?

Population estimates put the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region at 463,349 people in 2025, up 3.2% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 180,116 households. Median household income in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region is $86,191, 7% 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 Naugatuck Valley Planning Region scores 60 for bakeries and dessert shops (upper middle), #546 of 1,889 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. 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 Naugatuck Valley Planning Region

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region?

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 Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. 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.