What stands out worked out from the figures below

Deep River has the shortest commute (24 min average).

Columbia has the most people working from home (21.6%).

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	Deep River	Columbia
People
Population	4,458Lowest	5,300Highest
Median age	46.2±5.6Lowest 12% above CT	51.3±10.3Highest 25% above CT
	Columbia and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.6%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%	13.7%±4.3Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Deep River and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.1%±4.1Lowest CT: 18.5%	24.9%±5.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Columbia and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	44.6%Highest CT: 42.5%	34.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.8%±2.2Lowest CT: 7.1%	4.8%±2.5Highest CT: 7.1%
	Columbia and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$90,253±$19kLowest 6% below CT	$127,000±$30kHighest 33% above CT
	Columbia and Deep River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$362,200±$26kHighest about the CT average	$361,500±$16kLowest about the CT average
	Deep River and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,221±$185Highest 18% below CT	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT
	Deep River and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,092Highest 8% below CT	$5,228Lowest 21% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	58.2%±22.9Highest CT: 52.6%	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	8.2%Highest CT: 10%	6.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	69.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%	83.3%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 7 yrs newer than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 9% below CT	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	15.2%±5.6Lowest CT: 16%	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%
	Columbia and Deep River 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	#70 of 149 in CT	#114 of 149 in CT
School district	Deep River School District · Regional School District 04	Columbia School District
High school in town	Valley Regional High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	9.3	—
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.