What stands out worked out from the figures below

Middlefield has the shortest commute (25 min average).

Columbia has the most people working from home (21.6%).

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	Middlefield	Columbia
People
Population	4,243Lowest	5,300Highest
Median age	51.6±1.9Highest 26% above CT	51.3±10.3Lowest 25% above CT
	Middlefield and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	13.9%±4.1Highest CT: 20.2%	13.7%±4.3Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Middlefield and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	25.5%±7.2Highest CT: 18.5%	24.9%±5.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Middlefield and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	41.5%Highest CT: 42.5%	34.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.7%±2.4Highest CT: 7.1%	4.8%±2.5Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Middlefield and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$99,837±$20kLowest 4% above CT	$127,000±$30kHighest 33% above CT
	Columbia and Middlefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$376,000±$27kHighest about the CT average	$361,500±$16kLowest about the CT average
	Middlefield and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$3,501Highest 135% above CT	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,853Highest 3% above CT	$5,228Lowest 21% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	85.4%±52.1Highest CT: 52.6%	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Middlefield and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.1%Highest CT: 10%	6.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	83.3%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 6% below CT	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	10.9%±4.1Lowest CT: 16%	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#65 of 149 in CT	#114 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 13	Columbia School District
High school in town	None in town	None in town
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.