What stands out worked out from the figures below

Berlin has the shortest commute (21 min average).

Canterbury has the most affordable homes ($334k 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	Berlin	Canterbury
People
Population	20,361Highest	5,124Lowest
Median age	48.7±3Highest 18% above CT	48.4±4.5Lowest 18% above CT
	Berlin and Canterbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±2.7Highest CT: 20.2%	15%±3.5Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Berlin and Canterbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23.5%±3.1Lowest CT: 18.5%	25.5%±4.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Canterbury and Berlin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	44.9%Highest CT: 42.5%	26.2%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	7.2%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	4.4%±2Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Berlin and Canterbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$113,598±$11kHighest 19% above CT	$103,198±$6kLowest 8% above CT
	Berlin and Canterbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$374,600±$13kHighest about the CT average	$334,200±$12kLowest 9% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,402±$88Highest 6% below CT	$924±$367Lowest 38% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,291Highest 10% above CT	$4,140Lowest 38% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	63.4%±11.3Highest CT: 52.6%	40%±13Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Berlin and Canterbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	3.4%Lowest CT: 10%	4.9%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	82.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	88.7%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1972Lowest 5 yrs newer than CT	1975Highest 8 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 21% below CT	32 minHighest 20% above CT
Work from home	14.4%±4.6Lowest CT: 16%	14.7%±5.4Highest CT: 16%
	Canterbury and Berlin 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	#73 of 149 in CT	#125 of 149 in CT
School district	Berlin School District	Canterbury School District
High school in town	Berlin High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	11.5	—
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.