What stands out worked out from the figures below

Berlin has the most people working from home (14.4%).

Watertown 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	Watertown
People
Population	20,361Lowest	22,253Highest
Median age	48.7±3Highest 18% above CT	46.3±2.9Lowest 13% above CT
	Berlin and Watertown 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%	17.7%±2.6Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Berlin and Watertown 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%	23.3%±2.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Berlin and Watertown 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%	38.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	7.2%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	4.2%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$113,598±$11kHighest 19% above CT	$101,691±$7kLowest 6% above CT
	Berlin and Watertown 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	$333,500±$16kLowest 9% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,402±$88Highest 6% below CT	$1,275±$227Lowest 14% below CT
	Berlin and Watertown 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	$6,014Lowest 9% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	63.4%±11.3Highest CT: 52.6%	56.6%±13.3Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Berlin and Watertown 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%	4.3%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	82.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	83.9%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1972Highest 5 yrs newer than CT	1969Lowest 2 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 21% below CT	24 minHighest 10% below CT
Work from home	14.4%±4.6Highest CT: 16%	10.1%±2.3Lowest CT: 16%
	Berlin and Watertown 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	#126 of 149 in CT
School district	Berlin School District	Watertown School District
High school in town	Berlin High School	Watertown High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.5Highest	10.6Lowest
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.