What stands out worked out from the figures below

Prospect has the most kids (21.4% under 18).

Columbia has the most people working from home (21.6%).

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	Columbia
People
Population	9,458Highest	5,300Lowest
Median age	46.8±3.9Lowest 14% above CT	51.3±10.3Highest 25% above CT
	Columbia and Prospect 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%	13.7%±4.3Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Prospect and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.5%±4.3Lowest CT: 18.5%	24.9%±5.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Columbia and Prospect 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%	34.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.5%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	4.8%±2.5Highest CT: 7.1%
	Columbia 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±$18kLowest 32% above CT	$127,000±$30kHighest 33% above CT
	Columbia and Prospect are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$355,400±$21kLowest 3% below CT	$361,500±$16kHighest about the CT average
	Columbia and Prospect 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	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,504Highest about the CT average	$5,228Lowest 21% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	45.3%±31.8Highest CT: 52.6%	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Prospect and Columbia 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%	6.1%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	93.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	83.3%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 7 yrs newer than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minLowest 4% above CT	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	10.1%±3.2Lowest CT: 16%	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#50 of 149 in CT	#114 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 16	Columbia 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.