Food and drink · Metro area · Connecticut
Restaurants and cafes in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area
How the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #121 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut
- Listings
- 4,920
- 1,494 chain locations (30%)
- Official establishments
- 2,368
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $2.1B
- On food away from home · $4,450 a household
- Spending per listing
- $421K
- 13% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 105.8
- 4% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,171,426
- +3.0% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
The site report maps the restaurants 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 4,920 restaurants and cafes in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area. 1,494 of them (30%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 105.8, 4% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.
Household spending on food away from home in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area comes to about $2.1B a year: $4,450 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. Spread across 4,920 restaurants and cafes, that is $421K per restaurant, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K.
Official counts show 2,368 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area in 2023. That is one for every 196 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts also show 438 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 110 SBA-backed loans worth $41.9M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area scores 61 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for restaurants and cafes, ranking #121 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.
How the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 restaurants 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 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 105.8 | 112.3 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $421K | $401K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 196 | 190 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +3.5% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.0% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,450 | $4,498 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $95,118 | $95,781 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2,368
- Employees, 2023
- 37,572
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $940M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 438Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 4,9201,494 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5,583The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 110
- Amount
- $41.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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.
Population and households in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,171,426+3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 465,181
- Median age
- 42.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,452 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 794
- Median household income
- $95,118
- Average household income
- $127,867
- Median home value
- $333,500
- Jobs located here
- 597,826
- Daytime population
- 1,193,128Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardRestaurants and cafes across Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Connecticut
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 73 | 1,725 | 95.8 | $439K | +3.2% | #46 of 387 |
| 2Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 61 | 4,920 | 105.8 | $421K | +3.0% | #121 of 387 |
| 3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 56 | 4,453 | 125.4 | $398K | +3.7% | #149 of 387 |
| 4Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 39 | 1,361 | 117.6 | $354K | +2.0% | #266 of 387 |
| 5New Haven, CT | 39 | 2,879 | 124.8 | $344K | +2.5% | #268 of 387 |
Other business types in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes61
- Sit-down restaurants53
- Fast food and sandwich shops76
- Pizza55
- Coffee shops and cafes57
- Bakeries and dessert shops45
Groceries and convenience
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Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
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Funeral services
Questions
How many restaurants and cafes are in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area?
The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area has 4,920 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 1,494 of them (30%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 2,368 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023. Another 438 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area spend on food away from home?
About $2.1B a year, or $4,450 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4,920 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $421K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 465,181 households in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?
The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area has 105.8 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $421K, 13% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area would have about 5,583, against 4,920 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 196 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S.
How fast is the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area at 1,171,426 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 465,181 households. The median household income in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area is $95,118 a year, 18% 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area scores 61 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #121 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area. It maps the restaurants 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 restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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.