What stands out worked out from the figures below

New Fairfield has the most people working from home (18%).

Plainfield has the most affordable homes ($272k 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	New Fairfield	Plainfield
People
Population	13,584Lowest	15,141Highest
Median age	42.9±3.5Highest 4% above CT	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT
	New Fairfield and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	25.1%±4.3Highest CT: 20.2%	19.4%±2.6Lowest CT: 20.2%
	New Fairfield and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	20.1%±2.5Highest CT: 18.5%	16.6%±2.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	New Fairfield and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	48.3%Highest CT: 42.5%	15%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	8%±2.5Highest CT: 7.1%	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%
	New Fairfield and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$137,647±$14kHighest 44% above CT	$76,993±$8kLowest 20% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$484,800±$17kHighest 32% above CT	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,896±$280Highest 27% above CT	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$8,224Highest 24% above CT	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	43.2%±17.9Highest CT: 52.6%	39.8%±9.5Lowest CT: 52.6%
	New Fairfield and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	3.6%Lowest CT: 10%	8.7%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	91.7%Highest CT: 66.5%	73.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1969Lowest 2 yrs newer than CT	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	42 minHighest 60% above CT	27 minLowest about the CT average
Work from home	18%±3.2Highest CT: 16%	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#49 of 149 in CT	#131 of 149 in CT
School district	New Fairfield School District	Plainfield School District
High school in town	New Fairfield High School	Plainfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.8Highest	10.3Lowest
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.