Food and drink · Metro area · Connecticut
Fast food and sandwich shops in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area
The fast food and sandwich shops in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #55 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut
- Listings
- 223
- 129 chain locations (58%)
- Official establishments
- 332
- All limited-service restaurants
- Household spending a year
- $757.3M
- On food away from home · $4,205 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.4
- 7% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 463,349
- +3.2% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich 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 Waterbury-Shelton metro area. 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
Household spending on food away from home in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area comes to about $757.3M a year: $4,205 per household, 3% above the U.S. average. Spread across 223 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $3.4M per shop, 11% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
The Waterbury-Shelton metro area has 223 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 58% of them, against 79% across the U.S. That is 12.4 per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area was 332 in 2023. That is one for every 543 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Official counts list 86 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $655K have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area.
Population estimates show the Waterbury-Shelton metro area grew 3.2% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Waterbury-Shelton metro area scores 73 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #55 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Waterbury-Shelton 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 fast food and sandwich 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.
| Measure | Waterbury-Shelton metro area | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.4 | 13.0 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $3.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 543 | 497 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.5% | +6.1% |
| 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 score | 73 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 332All limited-service restaurants
- Employees, 2023
- 4,428
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $96.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 86All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 223129 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 248The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $655K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Waterbury-Shelton 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 limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area
- 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 Waterbury-Shelton 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 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Waterbury-Shelton metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Waterbury-Shelton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Connecticut
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 76 | 522 | 11.2 | $4M | +3.0% | #40 of 387 |
| 2Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 73 | 223 | 12.4 | $3.4M | +3.2% | #55 of 387 |
| 3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 64 | 541 | 15.2 | $3.3M | +3.7% | #106 of 387 |
| 4Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 63 | 137 | 11.8 | $3.5M | +2.0% | #113 of 387 |
| 5New Haven, CT | 51 | 367 | 15.9 | $2.7M | +2.5% | #188 of 387 |
Other business types in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes73
- Sit-down restaurants66
- Fast food and sandwich shops73
- Pizza56
- Coffee shops and cafes69
- Bakeries and dessert shops60
Groceries and convenience
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Beauty and personal care
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Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
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Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 223 fast food and sandwich shops in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area. 129 of them (58%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 332 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too. Official counts also show 86 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area 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 223 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $3.4M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 180,116 households in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
The Waterbury-Shelton metro area has 12.4 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $3.4M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, the Waterbury-Shelton metro area would have about 248, against 223 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 543 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S.
How fast is the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterbury-Shelton metro area 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 Waterbury-Shelton metro area 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 Waterbury-Shelton metro area scores 73 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #55 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 Waterbury-Shelton metro area. It maps the fast food and sandwich 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 fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in the Waterbury-Shelton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterbury-Shelton 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 Waterbury-Shelton 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.