Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Connecticut

Coffee shops and cafes 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 coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #136 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
476
230 chain locations (48%)
Official establishments
382
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$2.1B
On food away from home · $4,450 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
17% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.2
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,171,426
+3.0% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area

The site report maps the coffee shops and cafes 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.

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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 476 coffee shops and cafes in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area. 230 of them (48%) are chain locations, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.2, 7% below the U.S. rate of 11.0.

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 $4.3M per cafe, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 382 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area in 2023. That is one for every 1,218 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too. Another 47 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $3.7M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #136 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 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 coffee shops and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Coffee shops and cafes in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureHartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.211.011.0
Spending per listing$4.3M$4.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,2181,2381,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.1%+24.3%
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 score5761

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
382All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
5,796
Annual payroll, 2023
$104.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
47All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
476230 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
559The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$3.7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars 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 and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes.

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 coffee shops and cafes 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.

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Coffee shops and cafes across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Connecticut

Metro areas in Connecticut ranked for coffee shops and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waterbury-Shelton, CT691598.8$4.8M+3.2%#48 of 387
2Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT5747610.2$4.3M+3.0%#136 of 387
3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT5444012.4$4M+3.7%#164 of 387
4New Haven, CT4527612.0$3.6M+2.5%#232 of 387
5Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT4413611.7$3.5M+2.0%#241 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.

Questions

How many coffee shops and cafes are in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area?

There are 476 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area as of September 2026. 230 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 382 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Official counts list 47 one-person businesses without payroll.

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 476 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4.3M per cafe. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes. 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 coffee shops and cafes?

The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area has 10.2 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4.3M, 17% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area would have about 559, against 476 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,218 households, against one for every 1,518 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 57 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #136 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 coffee shops and cafes 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 coffee shops and cafes · 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.