What stands out worked out from the figures below

Beacon Falls has the most affordable homes ($350k median).

Durham has the highest household income ($159k).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Beacon Falls	Durham
People
Population	6,147Lowest	7,208Highest
Median age	48.4±3.8Highest 18% above CT	45.5±2.8Lowest 11% above CT
	Beacon Falls and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18%±4.8Highest CT: 20.2%	16.4%±3.6Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Beacon Falls and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23.5%±4.4Highest CT: 18.5%	17.4%±3.7Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Beacon Falls and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	44.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%	47.9%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.3%±3.2Highest CT: 7.1%	3.6%±1.5Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Beacon Falls and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$101,516±$42kLowest 6% above CT	$158,857±$7kHighest 66% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$350,300±$34kLowest 5% below CT	$424,800±$23kHighest 16% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,921±$286Highest 29% above CT	$1,154±$448Lowest 22% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,534Lowest about the CT average	$7,998Highest 20% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50.7%±30.4Highest CT: 52.6%	44.9%±28.4Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Beacon Falls and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	2.1%Lowest CT: 10%	3.4%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	85.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%	93.2%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1985Highest 18 yrs newer than CT	1976Lowest 9 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	33 minHighest 23% above CT	23 minLowest 13% below CT
Work from home	20.3%±7.4Lowest CT: 16%	20.5%±6.4Highest CT: 16%
	Durham and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#77 of 149 in CT	#88 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 16	Regional School District 13
High school in town	Woodland Regional High School	Coginchaug Regional High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.2Highest	8.9Lowest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

CT average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.