What stands out worked out from the figures below

Farmington has the most people working from home (22.1%).

Putnam has the most affordable homes ($269k 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	Farmington	Putnam
People
Population	27,134Highest	9,292Lowest
Median age	43.5±1.4Lowest 6% above CT	43.7±3Highest 6% above CT
	Putnam and Farmington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.9%±2.1Highest CT: 20.2%	18.6%±3.6Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Farmington and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	20.4%±1.8Highest CT: 18.5%	18.5%±3.1Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Farmington and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	68.3%Highest CT: 42.5%	20%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.6%±1.4Highest CT: 7.1%	3.9%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Farmington and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$141,120±$10kHighest 47% above CT	$70,561±$7kLowest 26% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$432,700±$14kHighest 18% above CT	$269,200±$11kLowest 27% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,807±$82Highest 21% above CT	$1,149±$44Lowest 23% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,771Highest about the CT average	$3,860Lowest 42% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	51.1%±7.5Highest CT: 52.6%	37.7%±11.6Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Farmington and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	4.2%Lowest CT: 10%	11.5%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	74.4%Highest CT: 66.5%	59.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1980Highest 13 yrs newer than CT	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 10% below CT	25 minHighest 6% below CT
Work from home	22.1%±2.8Highest CT: 16%	9%±2.8Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#12 of 149 in CT	#128 of 149 in CT
School district	Farmington School District	Putnam School District
High school in town	Farmington High School	Putnam High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.8Highest	9.5Lowest
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.