What stands out worked out from the figures below

Middlefield has the most affordable homes ($376k median).

Lyme has the most people working from home (27.6%).

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	Lyme
People
Population	4,243Highest	2,303Lowest
Median age	51.6±1.9Lowest 26% above CT	55.6±3.3Highest 35% above CT
	Lyme and Middlefield 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%	13.1%±2.4Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Middlefield and Lyme are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	25.5%±7.2Lowest CT: 18.5%	30.7%±4.5Highest CT: 18.5%
	Lyme and Middlefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	41.5%Lowest CT: 42.5%	63.5%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.7%±2.4Highest CT: 7.1%	2.2%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Middlefield and Lyme 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	$135,000±$22kHighest 41% above CT
	Lyme 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±$27kLowest about the CT average	$629,900±$105kHighest 72% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$3,501Highest 135% above CT	$1,719±$1kLowest 16% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,853Lowest 3% above CT	$7,328Highest 10% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	85.4%±52.1Highest CT: 52.6%	32.9%±44.3Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Middlefield and Lyme 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%	2.9%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%	90.8%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT	1967Highest same as CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 6% below CT	31 minHighest 17% above CT
Work from home	10.9%±4.1Lowest CT: 16%	27.6%±10Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#65 of 149 in CT	—
School district	Regional School District 13	Regional School District 18
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.