What stands out worked out from the figures below

Berlin has the shortest commute (21 min average).

Oxford has the most expensive homes ($472k 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	Oxford
People
Population	20,361Highest	12,991Lowest
Median age	48.7±3Highest 18% above CT	45.2±5.7Lowest 10% above CT
	Berlin and Oxford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±2.7Lowest CT: 20.2%	21.3%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%
	Oxford and Berlin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23.5%±3.1Highest CT: 18.5%	22.9%±3.2Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Berlin and Oxford 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%	46.3%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	7.2%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	3.6%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$113,598±$11kLowest 19% above CT	$128,953±$23kHighest 35% above CT
	Oxford and Berlin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$374,600±$13kLowest about the CT average	$472,400±$20kHighest 29% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,402±$88Lowest 6% below CT	$1,415±$87Highest 5% below CT
	Oxford and Berlin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,291Highest 10% above CT	$6,442Lowest 3% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	63.4%±11.3Highest CT: 52.6%	23.3%±15.8Lowest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	3.4%Lowest CT: 10%	4%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	1986Highest 19 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 21% below CT	30 minHighest 14% above CT
Work from home	14.4%±4.6 CT: 16%	14.4%±3.7 CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#73 of 149 in CT	#78 of 149 in CT
School district	Berlin School District	Oxford School District
High school in town	Berlin High School	Oxford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.5Highest	10.1Lowest
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.