What stands out worked out from the figures below

Plainfield has the most affordable homes ($272k median).

Colchester has the most people working from home (18.4%).

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	Plainfield	Colchester
People
Population	15,141Lowest	15,648Highest
Median age	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT	43.5±3.8Highest 6% above CT
	Colchester and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±2.6Lowest CT: 20.2%	20.7%±2.8Highest CT: 20.2%
	Colchester and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	16.6%±2.4Lowest CT: 18.5%	20.3%±2.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Colchester and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	15%Lowest CT: 42.5%	49.7%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.6%±1.8Highest CT: 7.1%	4.6%±1.3Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Plainfield and Colchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$76,993±$8kLowest 20% below CT	$122,390±$14kHighest 28% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT	$366,800±$16kHighest about the CT average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT	$1,474±$153Highest about the CT average
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT	$6,212Highest 6% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	39.8%±9.5Lowest CT: 52.6%	44.4%±10.4Highest CT: 52.6%
	Colchester and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.7%Highest CT: 10%	3.9%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	73.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%	76.5%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest about the CT average	30 minHighest 14% above CT
Work from home	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%	18.4%±3.8Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#131 of 149 in CT	#64 of 149 in CT
School district	Plainfield School District	Colchester School District
High school in town	Plainfield High School	Bacon Academy
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3Highest	9.8Lowest
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.