What stands out worked out from the figures below

Putnam has the most affordable homes ($269k median).

Brookfield has the highest household income ($148k).

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	Putnam	Brookfield
People
Population	9,292Lowest	17,706Highest
Median age	43.7±3Lowest 6% above CT	44.3±1.8Highest 8% above CT
	Brookfield and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18.6%±3.6Lowest CT: 20.2%	22.7%±3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Brookfield and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	18.5%±3.1Lowest CT: 18.5%	18.8%±2.8Highest CT: 18.5%
	Brookfield and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	20%Lowest CT: 42.5%	58.3%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.9%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%	4.3%±1.4Highest CT: 7.1%
	Brookfield and Putnam are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$70,561±$7kLowest 26% below CT	$148,360±$11kHighest 55% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$269,200±$11kLowest 27% below CT	$479,700±$24kHighest 31% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,149±$44Lowest 23% below CT	$1,892±$183Highest 27% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,860Lowest 42% below CT	$7,594Highest 14% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	37.7%±11.6Highest CT: 52.6%	35.9%±13.1Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Putnam and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	11.5%Highest CT: 10%	4.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	59.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	86.5%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT	1978Highest 11 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 6% below CT	28 minHighest 6% above CT
Work from home	9%±2.8Lowest CT: 16%	16.3%±3Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#128 of 149 in CT	#67 of 149 in CT
School district	Putnam School District	Brookfield School District
High school in town	Putnam High School	Brookfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.5Lowest	12.7Highest
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.