What stands out worked out from the figures below

Wallingford has the most renters (27.2% rent).

Bethany has the highest household income ($166k).

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	Wallingford	Bethany
People
Population	44,362Highest	5,288Lowest
Median age	42.6±1.8Highest 4% above CT	42.5±2.9Lowest 3% above CT
	Wallingford and Bethany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18.8%±1.9Lowest CT: 20.2%	20.3%±5.9Highest CT: 20.2%
	Bethany and Wallingford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.2%±1.7Highest CT: 18.5%	17.2%±4.2Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Wallingford and Bethany 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%	58%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6%±1Lowest CT: 7.1%	6.8%±3.7Highest CT: 7.1%
	Bethany and Wallingford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$104,773±$5kLowest 9% above CT	$166,236±$20kHighest 74% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$353,100±$8kLowest 4% below CT	$418,000±$42kHighest 14% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,374±$84 8% below CT	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,963Lowest 10% below CT	$8,313Highest 25% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	42.9%±8.9Highest CT: 52.6%	0%±100Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Wallingford and Bethany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.4%Highest CT: 10%	2.3%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	72.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	97.2%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1972Highest 5 yrs newer than CT	1970Lowest 3 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 8% below CT	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	13.3%±2Highest CT: 16%	12%±5.2Lowest CT: 16%
	Wallingford and Bethany 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	#108 of 149 in CT	#30 of 149 in CT
School district	Wallingford School District	Bethany School District · Regional School District 05
High school in town	Lyman Hall High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	10.5	—
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.