Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Connecticut

Sit-down restaurants in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT

The sit-down restaurants in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 76 out of 100: High

Ranked #214 of 2,405 scored counties
#1 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut

Listings
132
29 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
68
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$167.6M
On food away from home · $4,252 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
91% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
33.5
45% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
98,096
+3.0% since 2020

See the sit-down restaurants around any address in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region

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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for sit-down restaurants in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region is 76 (high), #214 of 2,405 scored counties and #1 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for sit-down restaurants.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 132 sit-down restaurants in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Chain locations make up 22% of them, against 29% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 33.5, 45% below the U.S. rate of 61.3.

At $4,252 per household (4% above the U.S. average), households in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region spend about $167.6M a year on food away from home. That works out to $1.3M per restaurant, 91% above the U.S. figure of $664K. That spending covers all food away from home, which sit-down restaurants share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 68 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region in 2023. That is one for every 580 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $40K has gone to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Northeastern 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 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.

Sit-down restaurants in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNortheastern Connecticut Planning RegionConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households33.563.461.3
Spending per listing$1.3M$709K$664K
Households per official establishment580412500
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−0.7%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,252$4,498$4,070
Median household income$90,589$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score7650

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
68
Employees, 2023
1,137
Annual payroll, 2023
$30.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
9Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
13229 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
253The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$40K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as full-service restaurants in the Northeastern 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region

Population, 2025 estimate
98,096+3.0% since 2020
Households
39,412
Median age
44.3
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
554 sq. mi.
People per square mile
174
Median household income
$90,589
Average household income
$113,121
Median home value
$307,600
Jobs located here
28,462
Daytime population
79,653Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Northeastern 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 sit-down restaurants on map listings by name and distance.

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

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Sit-down restaurants across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for sit-down restaurants, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region marked.

Top counties in Connecticut

Counties in Connecticut ranked for sit-down restaurants by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT7613233.5$1.3M+3.0%#214 of 2,405
2Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT6293551.9$810K+3.2%#673 of 2,405
3Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT5625352.9$834K+2.2%#896 of 2,405
4Capitol Planning Region, CT552,33459.7$739K+3.1%#958 of 2,405
5Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT5378565.6$678K+4.1%#1,052 of 2,405
6Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT501,78775.9$694K+3.5%#1,176 of 2,405
7Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT4849967.4$693K+2.3%#1,275 of 2,405
8Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT4472462.5$665K+2.0%#1,462 of 2,405
9South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT421,64471.3$603K+2.5%#1,555 of 2,405

Other business types in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region

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

Questions

How many sit-down restaurants are in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT?

There are 132 sit-down restaurants on map listings in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region as of September 2026. 29 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count restaurants of every cuisine, pizza included. Official counts show 68 businesses with payroll classed as full-service restaurants in 2023. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT spend on food away from home?

About $167.6M a year, or $4,252 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 132 sit-down restaurants on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per restaurant. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only sit-down restaurants. It is estimated from the incomes of the 39,412 households in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for sit-down restaurants?

The Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region has 33.5 sit-down restaurants per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 61.3. Spending per restaurant is $1.3M, 91% above the U.S. figure of $664K. At the national ratio of sit-down restaurants to household spending, the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region would have about 253, against 132 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 580 households, against one for every 500 across the U.S.

How fast is the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT growing?

Population estimates put the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region at 98,096 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 39,412 households. The median household income in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region is $90,589 a year, 12% 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region scores 76 for sit-down restaurants (high), #214 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Northeastern 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 Northeastern 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.