What stands out worked out from the figures below

Columbia has the highest household income ($127k).

Windsor Locks has the most kids (18.6% under 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	Columbia	Windsor Locks
People
Population	5,300Lowest	12,579Highest
Median age	51.3±10.3Highest 25% above CT	41.4±2.6Lowest about the CT average
	Columbia and Windsor Locks 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%	18.6%±3.4Highest CT: 20.2%
	Windsor Locks and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.9%±5.4Highest CT: 18.5%	18.2%±2.7Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Columbia and Windsor Locks are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	34.6%Highest CT: 42.5%	28.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.8%±2.5Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.9%±1.8Highest CT: 7.1%
	Windsor Locks 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	$81,205±$13kLowest 15% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$361,500±$16kHighest about the CT average	$258,800±$14kLowest 29% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT	$1,394±$187Highest 6% below CT
	Windsor Locks 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	$3,688Lowest 44% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%	58.2%±16.8Highest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	6.1%Lowest CT: 10%	10.9%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	83.3%Highest CT: 66.5%	77.1%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minHighest 21% above CT	22 minLowest 17% below CT
Work from home	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%	17.7%±3.7Lowest CT: 16%
	Columbia and Windsor Locks 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	#109 of 149 in CT
School district	Columbia School District	Windsor Locks School District
High school in town	None in town	Windsor Locks High School
Students per teacherat that high school	—	8.9
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.