Food and drink · Metro area · Connecticut
Sit-down restaurants in the New Haven, CT metro area
How the New Haven, CT metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for sit-down restaurants: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #290 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut
- Listings
- 1,644
- 319 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 566
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $991.4M
- On food away from home · $4,298 a household
- Spending per listing
- $603K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 71.3
- 16% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 578,741
- +2.5% since 2020
See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the New Haven metro area
The site report maps the sit-down restaurants 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 New Haven 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
At $4,298 per household (6% above the U.S. average), households in the New Haven metro area spend about $991.4M a year on food away from home. That works out to $603K per restaurant, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants.
There are 1,644 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the New Haven metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 29% across the U.S. That comes to 71.3 for every 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 61.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 566 businesses with payroll in the New Haven metro area classed as full-service restaurants. That is one for every 408 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Another 95 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 38 SBA-backed loans worth $12.7M have gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the New Haven metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the New Haven metro area grew 2.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The New Haven metro area scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants, ranking #290 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.
How the New Haven 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 sit-down restaurants 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 | New Haven metro area | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 71.3 | 63.4 | 61.3 |
| Spending per listing | $603K | $709K | $664K |
| Households per official establishment | 408 | 412 | 500 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.7% | +1.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.5% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $4,298 | $4,498 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $88,197 | $95,781 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 566
- Employees, 2023
- 9,297
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $260.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 95Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,644319 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,494The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 38
- Amount
- $12.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the New Haven 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 New Haven metro area
- 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 New Haven 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 sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the New Haven metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSit-down restaurants across Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the New Haven 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 | 66 | 935 | 51.9 | $810K | +3.2% | #73 of 387 |
| 2Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 53 | 2,833 | 60.9 | $731K | +3.0% | #163 of 387 |
| 3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | 49 | 2,572 | 72.4 | $689K | +3.7% | #198 of 387 |
| 4Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 40 | 724 | 62.5 | $665K | +2.0% | #275 of 387 |
| 5New Haven, CT | 37 | 1,644 | 71.3 | $603K | +2.5% | #290 of 387 |
Other business types in the New Haven metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes39
- Sit-down restaurants37
- Fast food and sandwich shops51
- Pizza41
- Coffee shops and cafes45
- Bakeries and dessert shops42
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 sit-down restaurants are in the New Haven, CT metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 1,644 sit-down restaurants in the New Haven metro area. 319 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 566 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts list 95 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the New Haven, CT metro area spend on food away from home?
About $991.4M a year, or $4,298 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,644 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $603K per restaurant. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 230,673 households in the New Haven metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the New Haven, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?
The New Haven metro area has 71.3 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $603K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $664K. At the U.S. ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the New Haven metro area would have about 1,494, against 1,644 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 408 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.
How fast is the New Haven, CT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the New Haven metro area at 578,741 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 230,673 households. Median household income in the New Haven metro area is $88,197, 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 New Haven metro area scores 37 for sit-down restaurants (lower middle), #290 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 New Haven metro area. It maps the sit-down restaurants 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 sit-down restaurants · All 56 business types in the New Haven metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the New Haven 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 New Haven 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.