What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Columbia has the most people working from home (21.6%).

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	Columbia
People
Population	9,337Highest	5,300Lowest
Median age	54.1±2.2Highest 32% above CT	51.3±10.3Lowest 25% above CT
	Thompson and Columbia 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%	13.7%±4.3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Columbia and Thompson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.4%±4.3Lowest CT: 18.5%	24.9%±5.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Columbia and Thompson 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%	34.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.9%±1.3Lowest CT: 7.1%	4.8%±2.5Highest CT: 7.1%
	Columbia 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	$127,000±$30kHighest 33% above CT
	Columbia 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	$361,500±$16kHighest about the CT average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,012±$344Highest 32% below CT	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT
	Thompson and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,822Lowest 42% below CT	$5,228Highest 21% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	54%±18.7Highest CT: 52.6%	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	5.9%Lowest CT: 10%	6.1%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	84.3%Highest CT: 66.5%	83.3%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1963Lowest 4 yrs older than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minLowest 20% above CT	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	13.1%±4.4Lowest CT: 16%	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%
	Columbia 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	#114 of 149 in CT
School district	Thompson School District	Columbia School District
High school in town	Tourtellotte Memorial High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	7.9	—
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.