What stands out worked out from the figures below

Union has the most affordable homes ($330k median).

Preston has the highest household income ($117k).

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	Union	Preston
People
Population	944Lowest	4,821Highest
Median age	49.9±4.3Highest 21% above CT	46.2±7Lowest 12% above CT
	Union and Preston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.9%±4.3Lowest CT: 20.2%	18.7%±4.4Highest CT: 20.2%
	Preston and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.5%±2.6Highest CT: 18.5%	23%±4.7Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Union and Preston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	24%Lowest CT: 42.5%	28.5%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%	4.9%±2.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Union and Preston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$88,958±$14kLowest 7% below CT	$116,648±$27kHighest 22% above CT
	Preston and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$330,400±$26kLowest 10% below CT	$361,900±$13kHighest about the CT average
	Preston and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,433±$1k 4% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,793Highest 28% below CT	$4,749Lowest 29% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	90%±64.7Highest CT: 52.6%	52.6%±12.5Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Union and Preston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.7%Highest CT: 10%	2.4%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.9%Highest CT: 66.5%	91.7%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Highest 9 yrs newer than CT	1970Lowest 3 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minHighest 20% above CT	22 minLowest 17% below CT
Work from home	9%±3.7Lowest CT: 16%	10.3%±6Highest CT: 16%
	Preston and Union 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	—	#93 of 149 in CT
School district	Union School District	Preston 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.