What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Orange has the highest household income ($142k).

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	Orange
People
Population	9,292Lowest	14,315Highest
Median age	43.7±3Lowest 6% above CT	45.6±2.4Highest 11% above CT
	Orange 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%	22.9%±2.5Highest CT: 20.2%
	Orange 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%	23%±2.7Highest CT: 18.5%
	Orange 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%	59.4%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.9%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.5%±2Highest CT: 7.1%
	Orange 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	$142,325±$10kHighest 49% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$269,200±$11kLowest 27% below CT	$491,500±$17kHighest 34% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,149±$44Lowest 23% below CT	$2,172±$161Highest 46% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,860Lowest 42% below CT	$8,988Highest 35% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	37.7%±11.6Lowest CT: 52.6%	64%±12.1Highest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	11.5%Highest CT: 10%	3.9%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	59.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	89.2%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT	1964Highest 3 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 6% below CT	28 minHighest 4% above CT
Work from home	9%±2.8Lowest CT: 16%	15.6%±2.9Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#128 of 149 in CT	#38 of 149 in CT
School district	Putnam School District	Orange School District · Regional School District 05
High school in town	Putnam High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	9.5	—
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.