What stands out worked out from the figures below

Cheshire has the most people working from home (19.1%).

Brookfield has the most expensive homes ($480k 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	Cheshire	Brookfield
People
Population	29,040Highest	17,706Lowest
Median age	44.9±1.4Highest 9% above CT	44.3±1.8Lowest 8% above CT
	Cheshire and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	21.9%±2.3Lowest CT: 20.2%	22.7%±3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Brookfield and Cheshire are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.3%±1.8Highest CT: 18.5%	18.8%±2.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Cheshire and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	60.7%Highest CT: 42.5%	58.3%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.5%±1.1Highest CT: 7.1%	4.3%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Cheshire and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$146,528±$12kLowest 53% above CT	$148,360±$11kHighest 55% above CT
	Brookfield and Cheshire are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$440,000±$17kLowest 20% above CT	$479,700±$24kHighest 31% above CT
	Brookfield and Cheshire are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,398±$116Lowest 6% below CT	$1,892±$183Highest 27% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,755Highest 17% above CT	$7,594Lowest 14% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	44.9%±6.3Highest CT: 52.6%	35.9%±13.1Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Cheshire and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5%Highest CT: 10%	4.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.6%Highest CT: 66.5%	86.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 7 yrs newer than CT	1978Highest 11 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	29 minHighest 9% above CT	28 minLowest 6% above CT
Work from home	19.1%±2.7Highest CT: 16%	16.3%±3Lowest CT: 16%
	Cheshire and Brookfield 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	#18 of 149 in CT	#67 of 149 in CT
School district	Cheshire School District	Brookfield School District
High school in town	Cheshire High School	Brookfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.6Lowest	12.7Highest
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.