What stands out worked out from the figures below

Sandy Hook has the most kids (22.6% under 18).

Columbia has the most affordable homes ($362k 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	Sandy Hook	Columbia
People
Population	9,863Highest	5,300Lowest
Median age	43.1±3Lowest 5% above CT	51.3±10.3Highest 25% above CT
	Columbia and Sandy Hook are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	22.6%±4.1Highest CT: 20.2%	13.7%±4.3Lowest CT: 20.2%
Age 65+	14.4%±2.4Lowest CT: 18.5%	24.9%±5.4Highest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	60.9%Highest CT: 42.5%	34.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.2%±2.1Highest CT: 7.1%	4.8%±2.5Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Sandy Hook and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$160,814±$25kHighest 68% above CT	$127,000±$30kLowest 33% above CT
	Sandy Hook and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$501,200±$33kHighest 37% above CT	$361,500±$16kLowest about the CT average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,866±$439Highest 25% above CT	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$10,000+Highest at least 51% above CT	$5,228Lowest 21% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	52.4%±26.6Highest CT: 52.6%	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Sandy Hook and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.6%Lowest CT: 10%	6.1%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.9%Highest CT: 66.5%	83.3%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1979Lowest 12 yrs newer than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	35 minHighest 33% above CT	32 minLowest 21% above CT
Work from home	23.1%±4.4Highest CT: 16%	21.6%±6Lowest CT: 16%
	Sandy Hook and Columbia 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	—	#114 of 149 in CT
School district	—	Columbia School District
High school 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.