What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Sterling has the most affordable homes ($283k median).

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	Sterling
People
Population	9,458Highest	3,629Lowest
Median age	46.8±3.9Highest 14% above CT	39.4±5.9Lowest 4% below CT
	Prospect and Sterling 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%	22.8%±5.9Highest CT: 20.2%
	Sterling 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%	13%±3.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.3%Highest CT: 42.5%	18%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.5%±1.8Lowest CT: 7.1%	3.7%±1.9Highest CT: 7.1%
	Sterling 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	$102,695±$12kLowest 7% above CT
	Prospect and Sterling 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	$283,400±$17kLowest 23% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,800±$433 21% above CT	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,504Highest about the CT average	$4,551Lowest 31% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	45.3%±31.8Highest CT: 52.6%	32%±18.1Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Prospect and Sterling 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%	8.3%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	93.5%Highest CT: 66.5%	81.1%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 7 yrs newer than CT	1988Highest 21 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minLowest 4% above CT	35 minHighest 34% above CT
Work from home	10.1%±3.2Lowest CT: 16%	11.6%±6.4Highest CT: 16%
	Sterling and Prospect are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#50 of 149 in CT	#119 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 16	Sterling 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.