What stands out worked out from the figures below

Newington has the shortest commute (21 min average).

Stratford has the most expensive homes ($372k 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	Newington	Stratford
People
Population	30,896Lowest	52,790Highest
Median age	45.3±1.7Lowest 10% above CT	45.7±1.4Highest 11% above CT
	Stratford and Newington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.3%±1.6Lowest CT: 20.2%	18.3%±1.3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Stratford and Newington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.2%±1.6Highest CT: 18.5%	20.7%±1.6Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Newington and Stratford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40%Highest CT: 42.5%	37.7%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.6%±1.1Highest CT: 7.1%	5.9%±1Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Newington and Stratford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$102,884±$6kHighest 7% above CT	$95,815±$7kLowest about the CT average
	Newington and Stratford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$310,400±$9kLowest 15% below CT	$372,200±$8kHighest about the CT average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,524±$107Lowest about the CT average	$1,706±$75Highest 15% above CT
	Stratford and Newington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,321Lowest 5% below CT	$7,420Highest 12% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	40.9%±2.1Lowest CT: 52.6%	59.3%±7.7Highest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	6.4%Lowest CT: 10%	6.7%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	78.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%	81.6%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1967Highest same as CT	1958Lowest 9 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 19% below CT	30 minHighest 13% above CT
Work from home	14.4%±2.3Lowest CT: 16%	14.6%±1.9Highest CT: 16%
	Stratford and Newington 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	#87 of 149 in CT	#134 of 149 in CT
School district	Newington School District	Stratford School District
High school in town	Newington High School	Stratford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	13.9	13.9
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.