What stands out worked out from the figures below

New Milford has the most people working from home (15.1%).

Putnam has the most affordable homes ($269k 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 Milford	Putnam
People
Population	28,334Highest	9,292Lowest
Median age	42.1±1.9Lowest about the CT average	43.7±3Highest 6% above CT
	Putnam and New Milford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	21.4%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%	18.6%±3.6Lowest CT: 20.2%
	New Milford and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	17.7%±1.7Lowest CT: 18.5%	18.5%±3.1Highest CT: 18.5%
	Putnam and New Milford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	41.2%Highest CT: 42.5%	20%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.1%±1.7Highest CT: 7.1%	3.9%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
	New Milford and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$106,411±$8kHighest 11% above CT	$70,561±$7kLowest 26% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$391,500±$10kHighest 7% above CT	$269,200±$11kLowest 27% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,609±$152Highest 8% above CT	$1,149±$44Lowest 23% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,150Highest 7% below CT	$3,860Lowest 42% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	57.7%±13.3Highest CT: 52.6%	37.7%±11.6Lowest CT: 52.6%
	New Milford and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	7.1%Lowest CT: 10%	11.5%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	80.4%Highest CT: 66.5%	59.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1975Highest 8 yrs newer than CT	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	30 minHighest 14% above CT	25 minLowest 6% below CT
Work from home	15.1%±2.5Highest CT: 16%	9%±2.8Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#110 of 149 in CT	#128 of 149 in CT
School district	New Milford School District	Putnam School District
High school in town	New Milford High School	Putnam High School
Students per teacherat that high school	11.7Highest	9.5Lowest
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.