What stands out worked out from the figures below

Columbia has the most affordable homes ($362k median).

Roxbury has the most expensive homes ($715k 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	Columbia	Roxbury
People
Population	5,300Highest	2,185Lowest
Median age	51.3±10.3Lowest 25% above CT	54.7±1.8Highest 33% above CT
	Roxbury and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	13.7%±4.3Lowest CT: 20.2%	14.3%±4Highest CT: 20.2%
	Roxbury and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.9%±5.4Lowest CT: 18.5%	31%±5.5Highest CT: 18.5%
	Roxbury and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	34.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%	65.2%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.8%±2.5Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.8%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Roxbury and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$127,000±$30kHighest 33% above CT	$123,864±$27kLowest 29% above CT
	Columbia and Roxbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$361,500±$16kLowest about the CT average	$714,500±$77kHighest 95% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT	$1,713±$418Highest 15% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,228Lowest 21% below CT	$6,591Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%	61.5%±48.3Highest CT: 52.6%
	Roxbury and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	6.1%Highest CT: 10%	3.7%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	83.3%Highest CT: 66.5%	82.7%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT	1981Lowest 14 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minLowest 21% above CT	37 minHighest 38% above CT
Work from home	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%	17.4%±6.6Lowest CT: 16%
	Columbia and Roxbury 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	#114 of 149 in CT	—
School district	Columbia School District	Regional School District 12
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.