What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Salem has the most people working from home (18%).

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	Salem
People
Population	8,517Highest	4,282Lowest
Median age	45.6±2.5Highest 11% above CT	40.9±5.4Lowest about the CT average
	Brooklyn and Salem are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20.6%±4.6Lowest CT: 20.2%	23.2%±5.1Highest CT: 20.2%
	Salem and Brooklyn 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%	19.7%±4.7Highest CT: 18.5%
	Salem and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	23.9%Lowest CT: 42.5%	50.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.4%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.8%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Salem 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	$123,245±$8kHighest 29% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$315,200±$28kLowest 14% below CT	$403,600±$33kHighest 10% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,125±$98Lowest 24% below CT	$1,440±$150Highest 3% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,538Lowest 32% below CT	$6,668Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	38.5%±19.3Highest CT: 52.6%	32.1%±26Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Brooklyn and Salem are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	2.3%Lowest CT: 10%	6.2%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	81.7%Lowest CT: 66.5%	86.6%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Lowest 11 yrs newer than CT	1988Highest 21 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest about the CT average	32 minHighest 19% above CT
Work from home	10.7%±5.4Lowest CT: 16%	18%±9.6Highest CT: 16%
	Salem 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	#11 of 149 in CT
School district	Brooklyn School District	Salem 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.