What stands out worked out from the figures below

Union has the oldest population (median age 49.9).

Salem has the most people working from home (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	Union	Salem
People
Population	944Lowest	4,282Highest
Median age	49.9±4.3Highest 21% above CT	40.9±5.4Lowest about the CT average
	Union and Salem 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%	23.2%±5.1Highest CT: 20.2%
	Salem 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%	19.7%±4.7Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Union and Salem 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%	50.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5%±3.3Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.8%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%
	Salem and Union 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	$123,245±$8kHighest 29% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$330,400±$26kLowest 10% below CT	$403,600±$33kHighest 10% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,440±$150 3% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,793Lowest 28% below CT	$6,668Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	90%±64.7Highest CT: 52.6%	32.1%±26Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Union and Salem are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.7%Lowest CT: 10%	6.2%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.9%Highest CT: 66.5%	86.6%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Lowest 9 yrs newer than CT	1988Highest 21 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minHighest 20% above CT	32 minLowest 19% above CT
Work from home	9%±3.7Lowest CT: 16%	18%±9.6Highest CT: 16%
	Salem 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	—	#11 of 149 in CT
School district	Union School District	Salem 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.