What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Washington has the most expensive homes ($660k 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	Washington
People
Population	5,300Highest	3,676Lowest
Median age	51.3±10.3Highest 25% above CT	49.9±5.5Lowest 21% above CT
	Columbia and Washington 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%	19%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%
	Washington 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%	26.9%±5.3Highest CT: 18.5%
	Washington 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%	53.7%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.8%±2.5Lowest CT: 7.1%	6.4%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Washington 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	$101,549±$16kLowest 6% above CT
	Columbia and Washington 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	$660,200±$130kHighest 80% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT	$1,204±$264Highest 19% below CT
	Washington and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,228Highest 21% below CT	$4,709Lowest 29% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%	26.1%±24Highest CT: 52.6%
	Washington and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	6.1%Lowest CT: 10%	9%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	83.3%Highest CT: 66.5%	79%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minHighest 21% above CT	26 minLowest 4% below CT
Work from home	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%	20.1%±9Lowest CT: 16%
	Columbia and Washington 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	#17 of 149 in CT
School district	Columbia School District	Regional School District 12
High school in town	None in town	Shepaug Valley School
Students per teacherat that high school	—	9.1
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.