What stands out worked out from the figures below

Plainfield has the most homeowners (73.6%).

Hamden has the most people working from home (16.3%).

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	Hamden
People
Population	15,141Lowest	61,045Highest
Median age	37±4.5Lowest 10% below CT	38.7±0.9Highest 6% below CT
	Hamden and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%	17%±1.5Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Plainfield and Hamden 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%	18.1%±1.3Highest CT: 18.5%
	Hamden 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%	47.8%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.6%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	15%±1.1Highest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$76,993±$8kLowest 20% below CT	$98,306±$7kHighest about the CT average
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$272,100±$16kLowest 26% below CT	$298,200±$9kHighest 19% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$70Lowest 19% below CT	$1,746±$50Highest 17% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,209Lowest 37% below CT	$7,784Highest 17% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	39.8%±9.5Lowest CT: 52.6%	50.9%±5.4Highest CT: 52.6%
	Hamden and Plainfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	8.7%Lowest CT: 10%	9.3%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	73.6%Highest CT: 66.5%	62.4%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Highest 4 yrs newer than CT	1964Lowest 3 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minHighest about the CT average	22 minLowest 18% below CT
Work from home	10%±4Lowest CT: 16%	16.3%±2.1Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#131 of 149 in CT	#122 of 149 in CT
School district	Plainfield School District	Connecticut Technical Education and Career System · Area Cooperative Educational Services
High school in town	Plainfield High School	Hamden High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3Lowest	13.5Highest
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.