What stands out worked out from the figures below

Hamden has the most renters (37.6% rent).

Burlington has the highest household income ($165k).

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	Hamden	Burlington
People
Population	61,045Highest	9,680Lowest
Median age	38.7±0.9Lowest 6% below CT	39.9±2.4Highest about the CT average
	Burlington and Hamden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	17%±1.5Lowest CT: 20.2%	25.9%±3.3Highest CT: 20.2%
Age 65+	18.1%±1.3Highest CT: 18.5%	13.7%±1.9Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	47.8%Lowest CT: 42.5%	50.8%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	15%±1.1Highest CT: 7.1%	7.5%±2Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$98,306±$7kLowest about the CT average	$165,120±$13kHighest 72% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$298,200±$9kLowest 19% below CT	$418,700±$21kHighest 14% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,746±$50Highest 17% above CT	$1,427±$671Lowest 4% below CT
	Hamden and Burlington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,784Highest 17% above CT	$7,464Lowest 12% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50.9%±5.4Highest CT: 52.6%	46.1%±15.9Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Hamden and Burlington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	9.3%Highest CT: 10%	2.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	62.4%Lowest CT: 66.5%	94.6%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1964Lowest 3 yrs older than CT	1981Highest 14 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	22 minLowest 18% below CT	29 minHighest 9% above CT
Work from home	16.3%±2.1Lowest CT: 16%	25%±4.1Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#122 of 149 in CT	#58 of 149 in CT
School district	Connecticut Technical Education and Career System · Area Cooperative Educational Services	Regional School District 10
High school in town	Hamden High School	Lewis S. Mills High School
Students per teacherat that high school	13.5Highest	11.4Lowest
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.