What stands out worked out from the figures below

Wallingford has the shortest commute (24 min average).

New Milford has the most kids (21.4% 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	Wallingford	New Milford
People
Population	44,362Highest	28,334Lowest
Median age	42.6±1.8Highest 4% above CT	42.1±1.9Lowest about the CT average
	Wallingford and New Milford 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%	21.4%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%
	New Milford 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%	17.7%±1.7Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.4%Lowest CT: 42.5%	41.2%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6%±1Highest CT: 7.1%	5.1%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Wallingford and New Milford 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	$106,411±$8kHighest 11% above CT
	New Milford and Wallingford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$353,100±$8kLowest 4% below CT	$391,500±$10kHighest 7% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,374±$84Lowest 8% below CT	$1,609±$152Highest 8% above CT
	New Milford and Wallingford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,963Lowest 10% below CT	$6,150Highest 7% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	42.9%±8.9Lowest CT: 52.6%	57.7%±13.3Highest CT: 52.6%
	New Milford and Wallingford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	5.4%Lowest CT: 10%	7.1%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	72.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	80.4%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1972Lowest 5 yrs newer than CT	1975Highest 8 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 8% below CT	30 minHighest 14% above CT
Work from home	13.3%±2Lowest CT: 16%	15.1%±2.5Highest CT: 16%
	New Milford and Wallingford 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	#110 of 149 in CT
School district	Wallingford School District	New Milford School District
High school in town	Lyman Hall High School	New Milford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.5Lowest	11.7Highest
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.