What stands out worked out from the figures below

Salisbury has the most expensive homes ($764k 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	Salisbury	Sterling
People
Population	4,224Highest	3,629Lowest
Median age	44.2±9.9Highest 8% above CT	39.4±5.9Lowest 4% below CT
	Salisbury and Sterling are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.2%±6.9Lowest CT: 20.2%	22.8%±5.9Highest CT: 20.2%
	Sterling and Salisbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	28.1%±5.1Highest CT: 18.5%	13%±3.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	58.8%Highest CT: 42.5%	18%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.9%±2.1Lowest CT: 7.1%	3.7%±1.9Highest CT: 7.1%
	Sterling and Salisbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$124,256±$26kHighest 30% above CT	$102,695±$12kLowest 7% above CT
	Salisbury and Sterling are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$763,700±$121kHighest 108% above CT	$283,400±$17kLowest 23% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,846±$736 24% above CT	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,125Highest 23% below CT	$4,551Lowest 31% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	23.2%±11.8Lowest CT: 52.6%	32%±18.1Highest CT: 52.6%
	Sterling and Salisbury are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	4.2%Lowest CT: 10%	8.3%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	68.2%Lowest CT: 66.5%	81.1%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1967Lowest same as CT	1988Highest 21 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	20 minLowest 25% below CT	35 minHighest 34% above CT
Work from home	28%±8Highest CT: 16%	11.6%±6.4Lowest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#19 of 149 in CT	#119 of 149 in CT
School district	Salisbury School District	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.