What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

West Hartford has the most people working from home (22.5%).

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	West Hartford
People
Population	17,867Lowest	63,620Highest
Median age	39.5±3Lowest 4% below CT	40.8±1.4Highest about the CT average
	West Hartford 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%	21.5%±1.4Highest CT: 20.2%
	West Hartford and Killingly are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	19.7%±2.4 CT: 18.5%	19.7%±1.1 CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.9%Lowest CT: 42.5%	66.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.4%±1.9Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.9%±0.7Highest CT: 7.1%
	West Hartford 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	$129,890±$7kHighest 36% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$288,600±$15kLowest 21% below CT	$411,000±$10kHighest 12% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,044±$141Lowest 30% below CT	$1,756±$40Highest 18% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,922Lowest 41% below CT	$9,598Highest 44% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	42.8%±10.9Highest CT: 52.6%	42.5%±5.7Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Killingly and West Hartford 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%	6.3%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	71.6%Highest CT: 66.5%	67.4%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1968Highest 1 yr newer than CT	1954Lowest 13 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minHighest 5% above CT	22 minLowest 16% below CT
Work from home	11.1%±2.3Lowest CT: 16%	22.5%±1.9Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#136 of 149 in CT	#32 of 149 in CT
School district	Connecticut Technical Education and Career System · Eastern Connecticut Regional Educational Service Center (EAS	West Hartford School District
High school in town	Killingly High School	Conard High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.1Lowest	13.5Highest
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.