What stands out worked out from the figures below

Middlefield has the most people working from home (10.9%).

Sprague has the most affordable homes ($274k median).

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	Sprague
People
Population	4,243Highest	2,962Lowest
Median age	51.6±1.9Highest 26% above CT	48.5±10.7Lowest 18% above CT
	Middlefield and Sprague are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	13.9%±4.1Lowest CT: 20.2%	17.1%±5.4Highest CT: 20.2%
	Sprague and Middlefield 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%	19.9%±3.9Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Middlefield and Sprague 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%	19.2%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.7%±2.4Highest CT: 7.1%	0.6%±0.6Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$99,837±$20kHighest 4% above CT	$92,850±$11kLowest 3% below CT
	Middlefield and Sprague 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	$273,500±$17kLowest 25% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$3,501Highest 135% above CT	$1,247±$144Lowest 16% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,853Highest 3% above CT	$4,668Lowest 30% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	85.4%±52.1Highest CT: 52.6%	26.9%±12.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Middlefield and Sprague are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.1% CT: 10%	8.1% CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	67.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Highest 6 yrs older than CT	1959Lowest 8 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 6% below CT	30 minHighest 12% above CT
Work from home	10.9%±4.1Highest CT: 16%	5%±2.9Lowest CT: 16%
	Middlefield and Sprague are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#65 of 149 in CT	#141 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 13	Sprague 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.