What stands out worked out from the figures below

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Bethel has the most people working from home (17.5%).

New Milford has the most affordable homes ($392k 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	Bethel	New Milford
People
Population	20,796Lowest	28,334Highest
Median age	42.8±2.6Highest 4% above CT	42.1±1.9Lowest about the CT average
	Bethel and New Milford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20.9%±2.5Lowest CT: 20.2%	21.4%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%
	New Milford and Bethel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	16.4%±1.8Lowest CT: 18.5%	17.7%±1.7Highest CT: 18.5%
	New Milford and Bethel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	45.7%Highest CT: 42.5%	41.2%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.7%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	5.1%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Bethel and New Milford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$116,541±$7kHighest 22% above CT	$106,411±$8kLowest 11% above CT
	Bethel and New Milford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$434,600±$16kHighest 18% above CT	$391,500±$10kLowest 7% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,640±$142Highest 10% above CT	$1,609±$152Lowest 8% above CT
	Bethel and New Milford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$8,165Highest 23% above CT	$6,150Lowest 7% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	51%±11.5Lowest CT: 52.6%	57.7%±13.3Highest CT: 52.6%
	New Milford and Bethel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.1%Lowest CT: 10%	7.1%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	75.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%	80.4%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 7 yrs newer than CT	1975Highest 8 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	33 minHighest 23% above CT	30 minLowest 14% above CT
Work from home	17.5%±2.9Highest CT: 16%	15.1%±2.5Lowest CT: 16%
	Bethel and New Milford 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	#100 of 149 in CT	#110 of 149 in CT
School district	Bethel School District	New Milford School District
High school in town	Bethel High School	New Milford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	13.6Highest	11.7Lowest
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.