Full-service restaurants in Connecticut: 3,638 locations, -2.6% jobs
Official counts for full-service restaurants in Connecticut, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how Connecticut compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
Connecticut against the country · 2026 Q1
| Connecticut | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants with employees | 3,638 | 265,527 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 99 | 78.1 |
| Jobs | 53,889 | 5,242,690 |
| Jobs, year over year | -2.6% | -0.4% |
| Locations, year over year | -1.7% | +1.0% |
| Average weekly wage | $633 | $602 |
| Rank among states, density | 4 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 49 of 50 |
What the numbers say
Connecticut has 3,638 full-service restaurants with payroll, employing 53,889 people. At 99 per 100,000 residents the market is denser than the country as a whole, number 4 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs fell 2.6% over the year, against -0.4% nationally.
Average pay at full-service restaurants in Connecticut is $633 a week, 5% above the national figure of $602. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of full-service restaurants in Connecticut moved +3.3%, from 3,568 to 3,684.
Full-service restaurants in Connecticut, annual average
- 20213,568
- 20223,578
- 20233,678
- 20243,687
- 20253,684
Jobs at full-service restaurants in Connecticut
- 202149,525
- 202254,958
- 202356,723
- 202456,990
- 202557,003
What counts as full-service restaurants here
Restaurants where customers order and are served at a table and pay after eating. Fast-casual counters and takeout are counted under quick-service. The code is NAICS 722511. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in Connecticut
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the full-service restaurants within reach of one address in Connecticut, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many full-service restaurants are there in Connecticut?
BLS counted 3,638 full-service restaurants with employees in Connecticut in 2026 Q1, employing 53,889 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 99 per 100,000 residents, against 78.1 nationally.
Are full-service restaurants growing in Connecticut?
Not at the moment. Jobs at full-service restaurants in Connecticut changed -2.6% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed -1.7%. That ranks Connecticut 49 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +3.3%.
Is Connecticut a crowded market for full-service restaurants?
Connecticut has 99 full-service restaurants per 100,000 residents, denser than the country as a whole, ranking 4 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Full-service restaurants in every state
Densest first. The number is full-service restaurants per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in Connecticut
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 722511, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in Connecticut · Growth ranking for Connecticut · Full-service restaurants by state