What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Southington has the most people working from home (17.3%).

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	Southington
People
Population	9,292Lowest	43,803Highest
Median age	43.7±3Lowest 6% above CT	45±1.4Highest 9% above CT
	Southington 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%	18.7%±1.4Highest CT: 20.2%
	Southington 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%	21%±1.6Highest CT: 18.5%
	Southington 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%	43.4%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.9%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%	6.3%±1.1Highest CT: 7.1%
	Southington 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	$124,309±$9kHighest 30% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$269,200±$11kLowest 27% below CT	$373,800±$10kHighest about the CT average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,149±$44Lowest 23% below CT	$1,472±$77Highest about the CT average
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,860Lowest 42% below CT	$6,206Highest 7% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	37.7%±11.6Lowest CT: 52.6%	43.9%±8.6Highest CT: 52.6%
	Southington and Putnam 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%	4.9%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	59.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	81.1%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT	1974Highest 7 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minHighest 6% below CT	24 minLowest 9% below CT
Work from home	9%±2.8Lowest CT: 16%	17.3%±2.9Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#128 of 149 in CT	#51 of 149 in CT
School district	Putnam School District	Southington School District
High school in town	Putnam High School	Southington High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.5Lowest	12.8Highest
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.