What stands out worked out from the figures below

Prospect has the most affordable homes ($355k median).

Ridgefield has the most people working from home (29.7%).

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	Ridgefield
People
Population	9,458Lowest	25,109Highest
Median age	46.8±3.9Highest 14% above CT	45.1±1.4Lowest 10% above CT
	Prospect and Ridgefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	21.4%±4.1Lowest CT: 20.2%	24.8%±2.3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Ridgefield and Prospect 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%	18.7%±1.9Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Prospect and Ridgefield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.3%Lowest CT: 42.5%	72.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.5%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	4.5%±1.4Highest CT: 7.1%
	Ridgefield 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	$179,219±$12kHighest 87% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$355,400±$21kLowest 3% below CT	$836,200±$26kHighest 128% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,800±$433Lowest 21% above CT	$2,026±$200Highest 36% above CT
	Ridgefield and Prospect 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	$10,000+Highest at least 51% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	45.3%±31.8Lowest CT: 52.6%	53.3%±12Highest CT: 52.6%
	Ridgefield 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%	3.5%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	93.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	83.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Highest 7 yrs newer than CT	1972Lowest 5 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minLowest 4% above CT	33 minHighest 25% above CT
Work from home	10.1%±3.2Lowest CT: 16%	29.7%±3.7Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#50 of 149 in CT	#4 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 16	Ridgefield School District
High school in town	None in town	Ridgefield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	—	11.4
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.