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South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT — Gas stations Saturation

How many gas stations 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. 27 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Gas stations with a convenience store · Fuel + mart locations. Counted together because official statistics use one 447110 code.

Measured density: Range spans bands — 0.94× the U.S. rate (between 0.94× and 1.00× 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. 8 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 5 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

In line with the U.S. rate   South Central Connecticut Planning Region gas stations — 94–100% of the U.S. rate

157 gas stations are counted in South Central Connecticut Planning Region — 2.2 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 94% of the U.S. rate of 2.4.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 5% between 2022 and 2023 (146 → 153). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 06471 (North Branford), 06473 (North Haven), 06477 (Orange) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 06511 (New Haven), 06513 (New Haven), 06518 (Hamden).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 162 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: South Central Connecticut Planning Region sits at 94% of the U.S. rate for gas stations. 5 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 94% and 100% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 06471 and 06473; the lowest measured density is in 06511 and 06513.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing gas stations 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.

Gas stations
157–173
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (8 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
2.2
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
2.4
per 10,000 present
County index
0.94×
vs. U.S.
Latest year (CBP)
162
2023 — $24M annual payroll
Residents
570,734
24 ZIPs with data
Workers
263,302
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
576,718
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+2.2%
+12,192 people
Net migration 2024
+3,526
international +5,328, domestic −1,802
Jobs located here
291,171
LODES 2022, +4.3% since 2019

South Central Connecticut Planning Region had an estimated 576,718 residents on July 1, 2024 — 2.2% more than in 2020 (+12,192). In the latest year it gained 3,799 people: births minus deaths +266, international migration +5,328, domestic migration −1,802. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

291,171 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+4.3% since 2019), and 265,837 employed residents lived there (+0.2% 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
06510 New Haven
+78.0%
06525 Woodbridge
+2.8%
06477 Orange
+2.7%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
06524 Bethany
−4.1%
06443 Madison
−2.5%
06437 Guilford
−0.7%

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 gasoline stations only as a broader 2022 grouping (NAICS 4571) that also includes other fuel retailers, so a convenience-store-gas-station-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 gas stations 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 — up 5% since 2022

Number of gas stations in South Central 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.

146
2022
153
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
06471 North Branford
205%
06473 North Haven
194%
06477 Orange
192%
06450 Meriden
179%
06472 Northford
174%
06460 Milford
166%
06405 Branford
146%
06443 Madison
127%
06516 West Haven
102%
06515 New Haven
102%
06437 Guilford
81%
06492 Wallingford
80%
06512 East Haven
79%
06517 Hamden
77%
06451 Meriden
77%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
06511 New Haven
32%
06513 New Haven
40%
06518 Hamden
69%
06514 Hamden
70%
06451 Meriden
77%
06517 Hamden
77%
06512 East Haven
79%
06492 Wallingford
80%
06437 Guilford
81%
06515 New Haven
102%
06516 West Haven
102%
06443 Madison
127%
06405 Branford
146%
06460 Milford
166%
06472 Northford
174%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few gas stations 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.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersGas stationsIndex
06510New Haven Employment hub 4,58413,964 0–2 —

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

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

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersGas stations Per 10kIndexStatus
06471North Branford 7,1402,143 4 4.9 205% High density
06473North Haven 24,74324,290 17 4.6 194% High density
06477Orange 14,31510,855 9 4.6 192% High density
06450Meriden 35,69413,494 18 4.2 179% High density
06472Northford 6,3631,812 3 4.1 174% High density
06460Milford 37,64921,274 19 3.9 166% High density
06405Branford 28,21712,979 12 3.5 146% Above average
06443Madison 17,6574,682 6 3.0 127% Above average
06516West Haven 55,35113,371 15 2.4 102% Above average
06515New Haven 19,0063,363 5 2.4 102% Above average
06437Guilford 22,0678,094 5 1.9 81% Below average
06492Wallingford 44,49826,850 11 1.9 80% Below average
06512East Haven 28,8306,497 6 1.9 79% Below average
06517Hamden 14,2214,359 3 1.8 77% Below average
06451Meriden 24,8515,134 5 1.8 77% Below average
06514Hamden 26,8036,729 5 1.7 70% Below average
06518Hamden 20,1268,890 4 1.6 69% Below average
06513New Haven 38,8887,153 4 0.9 40% Far below average
06511New Haven 54,73050,885 6 0.7 32% Far below average
06461Milford 15,0354,632 0–2 — — Not published
06501New Haven —43 0–2 — — Not published
06510New Haven 4,58413,964 0–2 — — Not published
06519New Haven 15,6057,483 0–2 — — Not published
06520New Haven —177 0–2 — — Not published
06524Bethany 5,288651 0–2 — — Not published
06525Woodbridge 9,0733,718 0–2 — — Not published
06534New Haven —35 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in New Haven

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 New Haven retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse New Haven retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse New Haven 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 South Central Connecticut Planning Region and gas stations

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 447110 — gasoline stations with convenience stores. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 162 establishments and $24M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. 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 (2.37 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.