What stands out worked out from the figures below

Durham has the most people working from home (20.5%).

Stafford has the most affordable homes ($264k 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	Durham	Stafford
People
Population	7,208Lowest	11,511Highest
Median age	45.5±2.8Lowest 11% above CT	46.7±4.8Highest 14% above CT
	Stafford and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.4%±3.6Lowest CT: 20.2%	21.5%±3.1Highest CT: 20.2%
	Stafford and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	17.4%±3.7Lowest CT: 18.5%	22%±3Highest CT: 18.5%
	Stafford and Durham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	47.9%Highest CT: 42.5%	28.5%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.6%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	3.5%±1.3Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Durham and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$158,857±$7kHighest 66% above CT	$93,235±$16kLowest about the CT average
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$424,800±$23kHighest 16% above CT	$263,800±$22kLowest 28% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,154±$448Highest 22% below CT	$1,086±$85Lowest 27% below CT
	Durham and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,998Highest 20% above CT	$5,131Lowest 23% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	44.9%±28.4Highest CT: 52.6%	41.5%±12.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Durham and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	3.4%Lowest CT: 10%	7.4%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	93.2%Highest CT: 66.5%	79.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Highest 9 yrs newer than CT	1970Lowest 3 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	23 minLowest 13% below CT	26 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	20.5%±6.4Highest CT: 16%	11%±3.5Lowest CT: 16%
	Durham and Stafford 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	#88 of 149 in CT	#96 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 13	Stafford School District
High school in town	Coginchaug Regional High School	Stafford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	8.9Lowest	9.8Highest
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.