What stands out worked out from the figures below

Berlin has the most affordable homes ($375k median).

Madison has the most people working from home (30.2%).

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	Madison
People
Population	20,361Highest	17,616Lowest
Median age	48.7±3Lowest 18% above CT	51.9±1.9Highest 26% above CT
	Madison and Berlin 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%	18.1%±2.2Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Berlin and Madison 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%	25.2%±2.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Madison 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%Lowest CT: 42.5%	72.4%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	7.2%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	5.9%±1.5Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Berlin and Madison are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$113,598±$11kLowest 19% above CT	$167,442±$16kHighest 75% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$374,600±$13kLowest about the CT average	$583,900±$30kHighest 59% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,402±$88Lowest 6% below CT	$2,025±$741Highest 36% above CT
	Madison and Berlin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,291Lowest 10% above CT	$8,843Highest 33% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	63.4%±11.3Highest CT: 52.6%	44%±12.3Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Berlin and Madison 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%	3.6%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	82.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	90.4%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1972Lowest 5 yrs newer than CT	1976Highest 9 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 21% below CT	30 minHighest 12% above CT
Work from home	14.4%±4.6Lowest CT: 16%	30.2%±5.3Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#73 of 149 in CT	#7 of 149 in CT
School district	Berlin School District	Madison School District
High school in town	Berlin High School	Daniel Hand High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.5Highest	9.8Lowest
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.