Groceries and convenience · County · Connecticut
Grocery and convenience stores in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT
How the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #622 of 2,402 scored counties
#9 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut
- Listings
- 426
- 139 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 228
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $1.6B
- On groceries · $7,029 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.8M
- 12% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 18.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 578,741
- +2.5% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region
The site report maps the grocery and convenience 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 South Central 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
Household spending on groceries in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region comes to about $1.6B a year: $7,029 per household, 11% above the U.S. average. That is about $3.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 12% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 426 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region as of September 2026. 139 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 18.5, in line with the U.S. rate of 18.7.
Official counts show 228 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region in 2023. That is one for every 1,012 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Official counts list 151 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $4.1M have gone to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region grew 2.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region is 64 (upper middle), #622 of 2,402 scored counties and #9 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut.
How the South Central 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 groceries by the grocery and convenience 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.
| Measure | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 18.5 | 17.5 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $3.8M | $4.1M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,012 | 1,172 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.3% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.5% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $7,029 | $7,222 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $88,197 | $95,781 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 69 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 228
- Employees, 2023
- 5,286
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $166.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 151Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 426139 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 479The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $4.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the South Central 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.
Population and households in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region
- 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 South Central 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 grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery and convenience stores across Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the South Central Connecticut Planning Region marked.
Top counties in Connecticut
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT | 78 | 82 | 17.1 | $4.2M | +2.2% | #221 of 2,402 |
| 2Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT | 76 | 107 | 14.4 | $5.1M | +2.3% | #259 of 2,402 |
| 3Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 75 | 70 | 17.8 | $4M | +3.0% | #294 of 2,402 |
| 4Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 72 | 424 | 18.0 | $4.4M | +3.5% | #381 of 2,402 |
| 5Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT | 71 | 212 | 17.7 | $4M | +4.1% | #409 of 2,402 |
| 6Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT | 70 | 294 | 16.3 | $4.3M | +3.2% | #433 of 2,402 |
| 7Capitol Planning Region, CT | 69 | 685 | 17.5 | $4.1M | +3.1% | #460 of 2,402 |
| 8Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 69 | 212 | 18.3 | $3.8M | +2.0% | #465 of 2,402 |
| 9South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 64 | 426 | 18.5 | $3.8M | +2.5% | #622 of 2,402 |
Other business types in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores64
- Grocery stores58
- Convenience stores71
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT?
As of September 2026, map listings count 426 grocery and convenience stores in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. 139 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 228 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023. Official counts also show 151 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT spend on groceries?
About $1.6B a year, or $7,029 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 426 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $3.8M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 230,673 households in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.
How does the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The South Central Connecticut Planning Region has 18.5 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $3.8M, 12% above the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the South Central Connecticut Planning Region would have about 479, against 426 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,012 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S.
How fast is the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT growing?
Population estimates put the South Central Connecticut Planning Region at 578,741 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 230,673 households. The median household income in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region is $88,197 a year, 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 South Central Connecticut Planning Region scores 64 for grocery and convenience stores (upper middle), #622 of 2,402 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. It maps the grocery and convenience 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 grocery and convenience stores · All 56 business types in the South Central Connecticut Planning Region
Screening a site or an acquisition in the South Central 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 South Central 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.