What stands out worked out from the figures below

Brooklyn has the most affordable homes ($315k median).

Essex has the most people working from home (19.4%).

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	Brooklyn	Essex
People
Population	8,517Highest	6,794Lowest
Median age	45.6±2.5Lowest 11% above CT	52.4±3.6Highest 27% above CT
Kids under 18	20.6%±4.6Highest CT: 20.2%	16.2%±3.3Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Brooklyn and Essex are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	17.6%±2.9Lowest CT: 18.5%	26.4%±3.8Highest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	23.9%Lowest CT: 42.5%	54.9%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.4%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%	8.7%±3.7Highest CT: 7.1%
	Essex and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$96,207±$15kLowest about the CT average	$104,395±$7kHighest 9% above CT
	Essex and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$315,200±$28kLowest 14% below CT	$552,000±$53kHighest 50% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,125±$98Lowest 24% below CT	$1,623±$326Highest 9% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,538Lowest 32% below CT	$5,678Highest 15% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	38.5%±19.3 CT: 52.6%	38.5%±9.7 CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	2.3%Lowest CT: 10%	3.2%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	81.7%Highest CT: 66.5%	78.1%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Highest 11 yrs newer than CT	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest about the CT average	27 minHighest 3% above CT
Work from home	10.7%±5.4Lowest CT: 16%	19.4%±4.6Highest CT: 16%
	Essex and Brooklyn 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	#113 of 149 in CT	#33 of 149 in CT
School district	Brooklyn School District	Essex School District
High school in town	None in town	None in town
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.