Food and drink · County · Connecticut
Coffee shops and cafes in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT
How the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT compares with other counties and the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #855 of 2,063 scored counties
#7 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut
- Listings
- 312
- 129 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 235
- All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Household spending a year
- $1.2B
- On food away from home · $5,267 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.3
- 21% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 640,482
- +3.5% since 2020
See the coffee shops and cafes around any address in the Western Connecticut Planning Region
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 Western Connecticut Planning Region. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 312 coffee shops and cafes in the Western Connecticut Planning Region. Chain locations make up 41% of them, against 39% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.3, 21% above the U.S. rate of 11.0.
Households in the Western Connecticut Planning Region spend about $1.2B a year on food away from home, or $5,267 per household, 29% above the U.S. average. Spread across 312 coffee shops and cafes, that is $4M per cafe, 7% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 235 businesses with payroll in the Western Connecticut Planning Region classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars. That is one for every 1,002 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 26 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $928K have gone to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Western Connecticut Planning Region.
Population estimates put the population change in the Western Connecticut Planning Region from 2020 to 2025 at +3.5%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for coffee shops and cafes in the Western Connecticut Planning Region is 54 (upper middle), #855 of 2,063 scored counties and #7 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut.
How the Western Connecticut 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 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.
| Measure | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.3 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4M | $4.1M | $3.7M |
| Households per official establishment (all snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars) | 1,002 | 1,238 | 1,518 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.1% | +24.3% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.5% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $5,267 | $4,498 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $128,188 | $95,781 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 235All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
- Employees, 2023
- 2,335
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $57.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 26All snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 312129 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 335The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $928K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars in the Western Connecticut 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 and nonalcoholic beverage bars, not only coffee shops and cafes.
Population and households in the Western Connecticut Planning Region
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 640,482+3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 235,379
- Median age
- 42.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 532 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,178
- Median household income
- $128,188
- Average household income
- $214,675
- Median home value
- $652,900
- Jobs located here
- 282,077
- Daytime population
- 636,160Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Western Connecticut 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 coffee shops and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardCoffee shops and cafes across Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for coffee shops and cafes, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Western Connecticut Planning Region marked.
Top counties in Connecticut
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT | 66 | 159 | 8.8 | $4.8M | +3.2% | #406 of 2,063 |
| 2Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 62 | 30 | 7.6 | $5.6M | +3.0% | #527 of 2,063 |
| 3Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT | 59 | 76 | 10.3 | $4.6M | +2.3% | #650 of 2,063 |
| 4Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT | 58 | 56 | 11.7 | $3.8M | +2.2% | #703 of 2,063 |
| 5Capitol Planning Region, CT | 56 | 400 | 10.2 | $4.3M | +3.1% | #770 of 2,063 |
| 6Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT | 56 | 128 | 10.7 | $4.2M | +4.1% | #775 of 2,063 |
| 7Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 54 | 312 | 13.3 | $4M | +3.5% | #855 of 2,063 |
| 8South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 48 | 276 | 12.0 | $3.6M | +2.5% | #1,098 of 2,063 |
| 9Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 48 | 136 | 11.7 | $3.5M | +2.0% | #1,099 of 2,063 |
Other business types in the Western Connecticut Planning Region
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes54
- Sit-down restaurants50
- Fast food and sandwich shops63
- Pizza63
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops49
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 coffee shops and cafes are in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT?
There are 312 coffee shops and cafes on map listings in the Western Connecticut Planning Region as of September 2026. 129 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count coffee, tea, juice and bubble tea shops, and cafes. Official counts show 235 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 26 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT spend on food away from home?
About $1.2B a year, or $5,267 per household. That is 29% above the U.S. average (an index of 129, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 312 coffee shops and cafes on map listings, it comes to $4M 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 235,379 households in the Western Connecticut Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for coffee shops and cafes?
The Western Connecticut Planning Region has 13.3 coffee shops and cafes per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 11.0. Spending per cafe is $4M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $3.7M. At the national ratio of coffee shops and cafes to household spending, the Western Connecticut Planning Region would have about 335, against 312 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,002 households, against one for every 1,518 across the U.S.
How fast is the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT growing?
Population estimates put the Western Connecticut Planning Region at 640,482 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 235,379 households. The median household income in the Western Connecticut Planning Region is $128,188 a year, 59% 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region scores 54 for coffee shops and cafes (upper middle), #855 of 2,063 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Western Connecticut Planning Region. 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Western Connecticut 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 Western Connecticut 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.