What stands out worked out from the figures below

Hamden has the most people working from home (16.3%).

Plainfield has the most homeowners (73.6%).

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	Hamden	Plainfield
People
Population	61,045Highest	15,141Lowest
Median age	38.7±0.9Highest 6% below CT	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT
	Hamden and Plainfield 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%	19.4%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%
	Plainfield and Hamden are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	18.1%±1.3Highest CT: 18.5%	16.6%±2.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Hamden and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	47.8%Highest CT: 42.5%	15%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	15%±1.1Highest CT: 7.1%	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$98,306±$7kHighest about the CT average	$76,993±$8kLowest 20% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$298,200±$9kHighest 19% below CT	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,746±$50Highest 17% above CT	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$7,784Highest 17% above CT	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50.9%±5.4Highest CT: 52.6%	39.8%±9.5Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Hamden and Plainfield 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%	8.7%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	62.4%Lowest CT: 66.5%	73.6%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1964Lowest 3 yrs older than CT	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	22 minLowest 18% below CT	27 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	16.3%±2.1Highest CT: 16%	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#122 of 149 in CT	#131 of 149 in CT
School district	Connecticut Technical Education and Career System · Area Cooperative Educational Services	Plainfield School District
High school in town	Hamden High School	Plainfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	13.5Highest	10.3Lowest
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.