What stands out worked out from the figures below

Montville has the youngest population (median age 42.8).

Stafford has the most people working from home (11%).

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	Montville	Stafford
People
Population	17,950Highest	11,511Lowest
Median age	42.8±4.1Lowest 4% above CT	46.7±4.8Highest 14% above CT
	Stafford and Montville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18.2%±2.8Lowest CT: 20.2%	21.5%±3.1Highest CT: 20.2%
	Stafford and Montville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	17%±2.1Lowest CT: 18.5%	22%±3Highest CT: 18.5%
	Stafford and Montville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	25.5%Lowest CT: 42.5%	28.5%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6%±1.6Highest CT: 7.1%	3.5%±1.3Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Montville and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$96,454±$11kHighest about the CT average	$93,235±$16kLowest about the CT average
	Montville and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$285,600±$13kHighest 22% below CT	$263,800±$22kLowest 28% below CT
	Montville and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,187±$99Highest 20% below CT	$1,086±$85Lowest 27% below CT
	Montville and Stafford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,565Lowest 31% below CT	$5,131Highest 23% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	41.4%±8.8Lowest CT: 52.6%	41.5%±12.2Highest CT: 52.6%
	Stafford and Montville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	7.8%Highest CT: 10%	7.4%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	81.8%Highest CT: 66.5%	79.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT	1970Lowest 3 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 5% below CT	26 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	5.5%±2.2Lowest CT: 16%	11%±3.5Highest CT: 16%
	Stafford and Montville 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	#95 of 149 in CT	#96 of 149 in CT
School district	Montville School District	Stafford School District
High school in town	Montville High School	Stafford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.2Lowest	9.8Highest
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.