What stands out worked out from the figures below

Prospect has the oldest population (median age 46.8).

Ashford has the most people working from home (19.3%).

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	Prospect	Ashford
People
Population	9,458Highest	4,226Lowest
Median age	46.8±3.9Highest 14% above CT	37.9±10.3Lowest 8% below CT
	Prospect and Ashford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	21.4%±4.1Highest CT: 20.2%	18.5%±5.5Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Prospect and Ashford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.5%±4.3Highest CT: 18.5%	18.9%±3.7Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Prospect and Ashford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.3%Highest CT: 42.5%	35.3%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.5%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	4.4%±1.7Highest CT: 7.1%
	Ashford and Prospect are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$126,394±$18kHighest 32% above CT	$121,926±$23kLowest 27% above CT
	Prospect and Ashford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$355,400±$21kHighest 3% below CT	$334,800±$18kLowest 9% below CT
	Prospect and Ashford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,800±$433Highest 21% above CT	$1,246±$208Lowest 16% below CT
	Prospect and Ashford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,504Lowest about the CT average	$6,982Highest 5% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	45.3%±31.8Lowest CT: 52.6%	47%±26Highest CT: 52.6%
	Ashford and Prospect are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	3.2%Lowest CT: 10%	5.4%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	93.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	76.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 7 yrs newer than CT	1982Highest 15 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minLowest 4% above CT	34 minHighest 30% above CT
Work from home	10.1%±3.2Lowest CT: 16%	19.3%±5.5Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#50 of 149 in CT	#90 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 16	Ashford School District
High school in town	None in town	None in town
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.