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Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT — Grocery stores Saturation

How many grocery stores exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 48 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Supermarkets · Grocery stores · Neighborhood food markets. Counted together because official statistics use one 445110 code.

Measured density: Above average — 1.14× the U.S. rate (between 1.14× and 1.41× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 30 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 16 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Range spans the U.S. rate   Western Connecticut Planning Region grocery stores — 114–141% of the U.S. rate

136 grocery stores are counted in Western Connecticut Planning Region — 1.8 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 114% of the U.S. rate of 1.6.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has stayed roughly flat between 2022 and 2023 (135 → 133).

Measured supply density is highest in 06854 (Norwalk), 06810 (Danbury), 06878 (Riverside) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 06897 (Wilton), 06877 (Ridgefield), 06851 (Norwalk).

BLS QCEW puts the latest county-wide count (2026 Q1) at 152 establishments, the freshest available signal.

Measured density: Western Connecticut Planning Region sits at 114% of the U.S. rate for grocery stores. 16 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 114% and 141% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 06854 and 06810; the lowest measured density is in 06897 and 06877.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing grocery stores and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Grocery stores
136–196
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (30 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
1.8
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
1.6
per 10,000 present
County index
1.14×
vs. U.S.
Latest quarter (QCEW)
152
2026 Q1 — county total
Residents
627,079
34 ZIPs with data
Workers
283,277
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
637,013
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+2.9%
+18,251 people
Net migration 2024
+5,215
international +9,532, domestic −4,317
Jobs located here
276,100
LODES 2022, −2.7% since 2019

Western Connecticut Planning Region had an estimated 637,013 residents on July 1, 2024 — 2.9% more than in 2020 (+18,251). In the latest year it gained 6,812 people: births minus deaths +1,558, international migration +9,532, domestic migration −4,317. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

276,100 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (−2.7% since 2019), and 267,996 employed residents lived there (+0.7% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
06901 Stamford
+53.6%
06810 Danbury
+6.3%
06801 Bethel
+5.9%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
06896 Redding
−3.8%
06880 Westport
−2.8%
06812 New Fairfield
−2.7%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses

Not shown. Census publishes grocery stores only combined with convenience stores in this dataset, so a grocery-only nonemployer count is not published.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (NAICS 2022). We do not approximate this figure.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more grocery stores in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — down 1% since 2022

Number of grocery stores in Western Connecticut Planning Region across 2022–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

135
2022
133
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
06854 Norwalk
274%
06810 Danbury
244%
06878 Riverside
202%
06470 Newtown
178%
06880 Westport
161%
06820 Darien
153%
06905 Stamford
148%
06902 Stamford
140%
06776 New Milford
127%
06850 Norwalk
115%
06831 Greenwich
111%
06830 Greenwich
96%
06811 Danbury
94%
06901 Stamford
90%
06804 Brookfield
90%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
06897 Wilton
80%
06877 Ridgefield
82%
06851 Norwalk
88%
06804 Brookfield
90%
06901 Stamford
90%
06811 Danbury
94%
06830 Greenwich
96%
06831 Greenwich
111%
06850 Norwalk
115%
06776 New Milford
127%
06902 Stamford
140%
06905 Stamford
148%
06820 Darien
153%
06880 Westport
161%
06470 Newtown
178%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few grocery stores may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = grocery stores per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersGrocery stores Per 10kIndexStatus
06854Norwalk 32,11815,609 17 4.3 274% Very high density
06810Danbury 55,83335,732 28 3.8 244% High density
06878Riverside 8,3282,418 3 3.1 202% High density
06470Newtown 15,5934,976 5 2.8 178% High density
06880Westport 27,58316,937 9 2.5 161% High density
06820Darien 21,9366,576 6 2.4 153% High density
06905Stamford 20,72510,589 6 2.3 148% Above average
06902Stamford 73,39236,528 20 2.2 140% Above average
06776New Milford 27,0106,650 6 2.0 127% Above average
06850Norwalk 19,6925,466 4 1.8 115% Above average
06831Greenwich 15,2104,494 3 1.7 111% Above average
06830Greenwich 24,88030,585 6 1.5 96% Below average
06811Danbury 31,2286,224 5 1.5 94% Below average
06901Stamford 11,03720,640 3 1.4 90% Below average
06804Brookfield 17,9087,267 3 1.4 90% Below average
06851Norwalk 27,86517,184 5 1.4 88% Below average
06877Ridgefield 25,11012,572 4 1.3 82% Below average
06897Wilton 18,77710,385 3 1.3 80% Below average
06440Hawleyville —37 0–2 — — Not published
06482Sandy Hook 12,0001,699 0–2 — — Not published
06752Bridgewater 1,658228 0–2 — — Not published
06755Gaylordsville 1,238132 0–2 — — Not published
06784Sherman 3,583327 0–2 — — Not published
06801Bethel 20,7967,540 0–2 — — Not published
06807Cos Cob 7,6501,629 0–2 — — Not published
06812New Fairfield 13,5841,150 0–2 — — Not published
06813Danbury —62 0–2 — — Not published
06829Georgetown —71 0–2 — — Not published
06836Greenwich —35 0–2 — — Not published
06840New Canaan 20,8705,691 0–2 — — Not published
06852Norwalk —302 0–2 — — Not published
06853Norwalk 3,171947 0–2 — — Not published
06855Norwalk 9,3513,176 0–2 — — Not published
06856Norwalk —3,770 0–2 — — Not published
06870Old Greenwich 7,8642,476 0–2 — — Not published
06875Redding Center —9 0–2 — — Not published
06876Redding Ridge —24 0–2 — — Not published
06881Westport —156 0–2 — — Not published
06883Weston 10,396706 0–2 — — Not published
06896Redding 8,7791,373 0–2 — — Not published
06903Stamford 14,0101,460 0–2 — — Not published
06904Stamford —2,748 0–2 — — Not published
06906Stamford 9,1991,703 0–2 — — Not published
06907Stamford 8,7052,208 0–2 — — Not published
06911Stamford —27 0–2 — — Not published
06912Stamford —249 0–2 — — Not published
06926Stamford —262 0–2 — — Not published
06927Stamford —823 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Stamford

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse Stamford retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Stamford retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Stamford retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Western Connecticut Planning Region and grocery stores

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 445110 — supermarkets & other grocery stores. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. BLS QCEW (quarterly) is newer than ZBP — 2026 Q1 shows 152 establishments county-wide for this industry. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (1.55 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.