Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · Connecticut

Coffee shops and cafes in the New Haven, CT metro area

The coffee shops and cafes in the New Haven, CT metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #232 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
276
120 chain locations (43%)
Official establishments
193
All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Household spending a year
$991.4M
On food away from home · $4,298 a household
Spending per listing
$3.6M
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
12.0
9% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
578,741
+2.5% since 2020

See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the New Haven 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 New Haven 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

At $4,298 per household (6% above the U.S. average), households in the New Haven metro area spend about $991.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $3.6M per cafe, 3% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only coffee shops and cafes.

The New Haven metro area has 276 coffee shops and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 120 are chain locations, or 43%, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 12.0, 9% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 193 businesses with payroll in the New Haven metro area classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 1,195 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S. That count covers all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (bakeries and dessert shops included), not only coffee shops and cafes. Another 27 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $1.5M have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the New Haven metro area.

Population estimates show the New Haven metro area grew 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For coffee shops and cafes, the New Haven metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #232 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.

How the New Haven 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 New Haven, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNew Haven metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households12.011.011.0
Spending per listing$3.6M$4.1M$3.7M
Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars)1,1951,2381,518
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.1%+24.3%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.5%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,298$4,498$4,070
Median household income$88,197$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score4561

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
193All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Employees, 2023
2,502
Annual payroll, 2023
$50.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
27All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
276120 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
268The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
6
Amount
$1.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the New Haven 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 New Haven metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
578,741+2.5% since 2020
Households
230,673
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
367 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,554
Median household income
$88,197
Average household income
$121,518
Median home value
$353,100
Jobs located here
298,580
Daytime population
597,614Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the New Haven 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 New Haven 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 New Haven 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 New Haven 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 New Haven, CT metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 276 coffee shops and cafes in the New Haven metro area. 120 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 193 businesses with payroll classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in 2023. The official count takes in all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes: bakeries and dessert shops are counted too. Official counts list 27 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the New Haven, CT metro area spend on food away from home?

About $991.4M a year, or $4,298 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 276 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $3.6M per cafe. That spending covers all food away from home, which coffee shops and cafes share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 230,673 households in the New Haven metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the New Haven, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?

The New Haven metro area has 12.0 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $3.6M, 3% below the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the U.S. ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the New Haven metro area would have about 268, against 276 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,195 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.

How fast is the New Haven, CT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the New Haven metro area at 578,741 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 230,673 households. Median household income in the New Haven metro area is $88,197, 9% 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 New Haven metro area scores 45 for coffee shops and cafes (lower middle), #232 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 New Haven 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 New Haven metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the New Haven 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 New Haven 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.