Groundwork

Groceries and convenience · County · Connecticut

Grocery stores in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT

How the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT compares with other counties and the U.S. for grocery stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #375 of 2,070 scored counties
#2 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut

Listings
45
19 chain locations (42%)
Official establishments
33
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$549.1M
On groceries · $7,414 a household
Spending per listing
$12.2M
31% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.1
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
177,311
+2.3% since 2020

See the grocery stores around any address in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

The site report maps the grocery 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region comes to about $549.1M a year: $7,414 per household, 17% above the U.S. average. Spread across 45 grocery stores, that is $12.2M per store, 31% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. The spending figure covers all groceries, not only grocery stores.

There are 45 grocery stores on map listings in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 42% of them, against 37% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.1, 10% below the U.S. rate of 6.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region was 33 in 2023. That is one for every 2,244 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For grocery stores, the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #375 of 2,070 scored counties and #2 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How the Lower Connecticut River Valley 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 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.

Grocery stores in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureLower Connecticut River Valley Planning RegionConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.17.96.8
Spending per listing$12.2M$9.1M$9.3M
Households per official establishment2,2441,8702,053
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−3.9%0.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on groceries$7,414$7,222$6,319
Median household income$104,428$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score7151

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
33
Employees, 2023
1,775
Annual payroll, 2023
$54.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4519 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
59The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in the Lower Connecticut River Valley 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

Population, 2025 estimate
177,311+2.3% since 2020
Households
74,068
Median age
45.6
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
424 sq. mi.
People per square mile
415
Median household income
$104,428
Average household income
$138,522
Median home value
$379,700
Jobs located here
70,497
Daytime population
159,861Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lower Connecticut River Valley 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Grocery stores across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for grocery stores, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region marked.

Top counties in Connecticut

Counties in Connecticut ranked for grocery stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT79256.3$11.1M+3.0%#223 of 2,070
2Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT71456.1$12.2M+2.3%#375 of 2,070
3Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT71316.5$11.1M+2.2%#384 of 2,070
4Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT71736.3$11M+2.0%#387 of 2,070
5Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT621337.4$9.4M+3.2%#629 of 2,070
6Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT601968.3$9.5M+3.5%#681 of 2,070
7South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT581807.8$9M+2.5%#751 of 2,070
8Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT581119.3$7.7M+4.1%#762 of 2,070
9Capitol Planning Region, CT553418.7$8.2M+3.1%#849 of 2,070

Other business types in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many grocery stores are in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT?

As of September 2026, map listings count 45 grocery stores in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. 19 of them (42%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery stores and supermarkets. Official counts show 33 businesses with payroll classed as supermarkets and grocery stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT spend on groceries?

About $549.1M a year, or $7,414 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 45 grocery stores on map listings, it comes to $12.2M per store. That spending covers all groceries, which grocery stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 74,068 households in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for grocery stores?

The Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has 6.1 grocery stores per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 6.8. Spending per store is $12.2M, 31% above the U.S. figure of $9.3M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery stores to household spending, the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region would have about 59, against 45 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,244 households, against one for every 2,053 across the U.S.

How fast is the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT growing?

Population estimates put the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region at 177,311 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 74,068 households. The median household income in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region is $104,428 a year, 29% 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region scores 71 for grocery stores (upper middle), #375 of 2,070 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. It maps the grocery 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 stores · All 56 business types in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lower Connecticut River Valley 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley 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.