What stands out worked out from the figures below

Killingly has the most affordable homes ($289k median).

Bethel has the most people working from home (17.5%).

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	Killingly	Bethel
People
Population	17,867Lowest	20,796Highest
Median age	39.5±3Lowest 4% below CT	42.8±2.6Highest 4% above CT
	Bethel and Killingly are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.8%±2.3Lowest CT: 20.2%	20.9%±2.5Highest CT: 20.2%
	Bethel and Killingly are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	19.7%±2.4Highest CT: 18.5%	16.4%±1.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Killingly and Bethel are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.9%Lowest CT: 42.5%	45.7%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.4%±1.9Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.7%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%
	Bethel and Killingly are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$84,350±$8kLowest 12% below CT	$116,541±$7kHighest 22% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$288,600±$15kLowest 21% below CT	$434,600±$16kHighest 18% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,044±$141Lowest 30% below CT	$1,640±$142Highest 10% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,922Lowest 41% below CT	$8,165Highest 23% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	42.8%±10.9Lowest CT: 52.6%	51%±11.5Highest CT: 52.6%
	Bethel and Killingly are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	11.4%Highest CT: 10%	5.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	71.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	75.2%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1968Lowest 1 yr newer than CT	1974Highest 7 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minLowest 5% above CT	33 minHighest 23% above CT
Work from home	11.1%±2.3Lowest CT: 16%	17.5%±2.9Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#136 of 149 in CT	#100 of 149 in CT
School district	Connecticut Technical Education and Career System · Eastern Connecticut Regional Educational Service Center (EAS	Bethel School District
High school in town	Killingly High School	Bethel High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.1Lowest	13.6Highest
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.