What stands out worked out from the figures below

Bolton has the most people working from home (20.7%).

Plainfield has the most affordable homes ($272k 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	Bolton	Plainfield
People
Population	4,853Lowest	15,141Highest
Median age	43.7±3.3Highest 6% above CT	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT
	Bolton and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20%±3.6Highest CT: 20.2%	19.4%±2.6Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Bolton and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	19.7%±3.4Highest CT: 18.5%	16.6%±2.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Bolton and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	51.3%Highest CT: 42.5%	15%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	7.7%±2.6Highest CT: 7.1%	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Bolton and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$126,364±$19kHighest 32% above CT	$76,993±$8kLowest 20% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$367,600±$17kHighest about the CT average	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,127±$55Lowest 24% below CT	$1,204±$70Highest 19% below CT
	Plainfield and Bolton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$8,091Highest 22% above CT	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	39.8%±30.8 CT: 52.6%	39.8%±9.5 CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	7.2%Lowest CT: 10%	8.7%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	88%Highest CT: 66.5%	73.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1969Lowest 2 yrs newer than CT	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 6% below CT	27 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	20.7%±4.6Highest CT: 16%	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#79 of 149 in CT	#131 of 149 in CT
School district	Bolton School District	Plainfield School District
High school in town	Bolton High School	Plainfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	7.4Lowest	10.3Highest
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.