What stands out worked out from the figures below

Thompson has the most affordable homes ($292k median).

Beacon Falls has the most kids (18% under 18).

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	Thompson	Beacon Falls
People
Population	9,337Highest	6,147Lowest
Median age	54.1±2.2Highest 32% above CT	48.4±3.8Lowest 18% above CT
	Thompson and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	11.4%±2.8Lowest CT: 20.2%	18%±4.8Highest CT: 20.2%
	Beacon Falls and Thompson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.4%±4.3Highest CT: 18.5%	23.5%±4.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Thompson and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	21.9%Lowest CT: 42.5%	44.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.9%±1.3Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.3%±3.2Highest CT: 7.1%
	Beacon Falls and Thompson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$93,629±$18kLowest about the CT average	$101,516±$42kHighest 6% above CT
	Beacon Falls and Thompson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$291,900±$24kLowest 20% below CT	$350,300±$34kHighest 5% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,012±$344Lowest 32% below CT	$1,921±$286Highest 29% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,822Lowest 42% below CT	$6,534Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	54%±18.7Highest CT: 52.6%	50.7%±30.4Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Thompson and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.9%Highest CT: 10%	2.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	84.3%Lowest CT: 66.5%	85.5%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1963Lowest 4 yrs older than CT	1985Highest 18 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minLowest 20% above CT	33 minHighest 23% above CT
Work from home	13.1%±4.4Lowest CT: 16%	20.3%±7.4Highest CT: 16%
	Beacon Falls and Thompson 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	#130 of 149 in CT	#77 of 149 in CT
School district	Thompson School District	Regional School District 16
High school in town	Tourtellotte Memorial High School	Woodland Regional High School
Students per teacherat that high school	7.9Lowest	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.