What stands out worked out from the figures below

Orange has the highest household income ($142k).

Washington has the most expensive homes ($660k 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	Orange	Washington
People
Population	14,315Highest	3,676Lowest
Median age	45.6±2.4Lowest 11% above CT	49.9±5.5Highest 21% above CT
	Washington and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	22.9%±2.5Highest CT: 20.2%	19%±4.7Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Orange and Washington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23%±2.7Lowest CT: 18.5%	26.9%±5.3Highest CT: 18.5%
	Washington and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	59.4%Highest CT: 42.5%	53.7%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.5%±2Lowest CT: 7.1%	6.4%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Washington and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$142,325±$10kHighest 49% above CT	$101,549±$16kLowest 6% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$491,500±$17kLowest 34% above CT	$660,200±$130kHighest 80% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$2,172±$161Highest 46% above CT	$1,204±$264Lowest 19% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$8,988Highest 35% above CT	$4,709Lowest 29% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	64%±12.1Highest CT: 52.6%	26.1%±24Lowest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	3.9%Lowest CT: 10%	9%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	89.2%Highest CT: 66.5%	79%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1964Lowest 3 yrs older than CT	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minHighest 4% above CT	26 minLowest 4% below CT
Work from home	15.6%±2.9Lowest CT: 16%	20.1%±9Highest CT: 16%
	Washington and Orange 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	#38 of 149 in CT	#17 of 149 in CT
School district	Orange School District · Regional School District 05	Regional School District 12
High school in town	None in town	Shepaug Valley School
Students per teacherat that high school	—	9.1
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.