What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Washington has the most expensive homes ($660k median).

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	Washington
People
Population	6,147Highest	3,676Lowest
Median age	48.4±3.8Lowest 18% above CT	49.9±5.5Highest 21% above CT
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18%±4.8Lowest CT: 20.2%	19%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23.5%±4.4Lowest CT: 18.5%	26.9%±5.3Highest CT: 18.5%
	Washington and Beacon Falls 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%	53.7%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.3%±3.2Lowest CT: 7.1%	6.4%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Washington and Beacon Falls 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	$101,549±$16kHighest 6% above CT
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$350,300±$34kLowest 5% below CT	$660,200±$130kHighest 80% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,921±$286Highest 29% above CT	$1,204±$264Lowest 19% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,534Highest about the CT average	$4,709Lowest 29% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50.7%±30.4Highest CT: 52.6%	26.1%±24Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Beacon Falls and Washington 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%	9%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	85.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	79%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1985Highest 18 yrs newer than CT	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	33 minHighest 23% above CT	26 minLowest 4% below CT
Work from home	20.3%±7.4Highest CT: 16%	20.1%±9Lowest CT: 16%
	Beacon Falls and Washington 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	#17 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 16	Regional School District 12
High school in town	Woodland Regional High School	Shepaug Valley School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.2Highest	9.1Lowest
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.