What stands out worked out from the figures below

Suffield has the shortest commute (26 min average).

Beacon Falls has the most affordable homes ($350k 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	Suffield	Beacon Falls
People
Population	15,702Highest	6,147Lowest
Median age	44.5±1.7Lowest 8% above CT	48.4±3.8Highest 18% above CT
	Beacon Falls and Suffield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.2%±2Lowest CT: 20.2%	18%±4.8Highest CT: 20.2%
	Beacon Falls and Suffield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	18.4%±2.2Lowest CT: 18.5%	23.5%±4.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Beacon Falls and Suffield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.4%Lowest CT: 42.5%	44.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.4%±1.2Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.3%±3.2Highest CT: 7.1%
	Beacon Falls and Suffield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$119,472±$13kHighest 25% above CT	$101,516±$42kLowest 6% above CT
	Suffield and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$407,500±$26kHighest 11% above CT	$350,300±$34kLowest 5% below CT
	Suffield and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,424±$141Lowest 4% below CT	$1,921±$286Highest 29% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,456Lowest about the CT average	$6,534Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	51%±4.6Highest CT: 52.6%	50.7%±30.4Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Suffield and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	4.6%Highest CT: 10%	2.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.7%Highest CT: 66.5%	85.5%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1979Lowest 12 yrs newer than CT	1985Highest 18 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest 3% below CT	33 minHighest 23% above CT
Work from home	18.4%±4.1Lowest CT: 16%	20.3%±7.4Highest CT: 16%
	Beacon Falls and Suffield 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	#57 of 149 in CT	#77 of 149 in CT
School district	Suffield School District	Regional School District 16
High school in town	Suffield High School	Woodland Regional High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.9Lowest	11.2Highest
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.