Groundwork

Clothing and laundry · Metro area · Connecticut

Clothing and shoe stores in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area

How the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #90 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
177
111 chain locations (63%)
Official establishments
89
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$273.2M
On clothing, shoes and related services · $2,360 a household
Spending per listing
$1.5M
21% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.3
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
284,015
+2.0% since 2020

See the clothing and shoe stores around any address in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

The site report maps the clothing and shoe stores 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro 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

Household spending on clothing, shoes and related services in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area comes to about $273.2M a year: $2,360 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.5M per store, 21% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only clothing and shoe stores.

There are 177 clothing and shoe stores on map listings in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 63% of them, against 44% across the U.S. That comes to 15.3 for every 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 16.2.

In 2023, official counts showed 89 businesses with payroll in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area classed as clothing and shoe stores. That is one for every 1,301 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Another 122 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $150K has gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area grew 2.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For clothing and shoe stores, the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area has a Groundwork market score of 65 (upper middle): #90 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area compares

The same measures for Connecticut and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all clothing, shoes and related services by the clothing and shoe stores counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Clothing and shoe stores in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNorwich-New London-Willimantic metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.315.916.2
Spending per listing$1.5M$1.6M$1.3M
Households per official establishment1,3011,3041,273
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−15.3%−12.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.0%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on clothing, shoes and related services$2,360$2,564$2,055
Median household income$86,586$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score6573

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
89
Employees, 2023
1,117
Annual payroll, 2023
$24.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
122Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
177111 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
215The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$150K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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.

Population and households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
284,015+2.0% since 2020
Households
115,768
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
598 sq. mi.
People per square mile
468
Median household income
$86,586
Average household income
$111,769
Median home value
$323,400
Jobs located here
118,380
Daytime population
270,328Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 clothing and shoe stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Clothing and shoe stores across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for clothing and shoe stores, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Connecticut

Metro areas in Connecticut ranked for clothing and shoe stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waterbury-Shelton, CT891598.8$2.7M+3.2%#4 of 387
2Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT7171115.3$1.7M+3.0%#53 of 387
3Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT6517715.3$1.5M+2.0%#90 of 387
4New Haven, CT6039817.3$1.4M+2.5%#129 of 387
5Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT5379322.3$1.3M+3.7%#188 of 387

Other business types in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

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

Questions

How many clothing and shoe stores are in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 177 clothing and shoe stores in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area. 111 of them (63%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 89 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023. Official counts list 122 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area spend on clothing, shoes and related services?

About $273.2M a year, or $2,360 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 177 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per store. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which clothing and shoe stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 115,768 households in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores?

The Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area has 15.3 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $1.5M, 21% above the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the U.S. ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area would have about 215, against 177 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,301 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S.

How fast is the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area at 284,015 people in 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 115,768 households. Median household income in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area is $86,586, 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area scores 65 for clothing and shoe stores (upper middle), #90 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area. It maps the clothing and shoe stores 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 clothing and shoe stores · All 56 business types in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic 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.