What stands out worked out from the figures below

Wallingford has the most people working from home (13.3%).

Thomaston has the most affordable homes ($283k median).

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	Thomaston
People
Population	44,362Highest	7,492Lowest
Median age	42.6±1.8Highest 4% above CT	41.5±7.7Lowest about the CT average
	Wallingford and Thomaston 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%	20.5%±5.2Highest CT: 20.2%
	Thomaston 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%	18.6%±3.6Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Wallingford and Thomaston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.4%Highest CT: 42.5%	34%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6%±1Highest CT: 7.1%	5.5%±2.1Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Wallingford and Thomaston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$104,773±$5kHighest 9% above CT	$103,218±$15kLowest 8% above CT
	Wallingford and Thomaston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$353,100±$8kHighest 4% below CT	$282,600±$23kLowest 23% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,374±$84Highest 8% below CT	$1,037±$147Lowest 30% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,963Highest 10% below CT	$5,915Lowest 11% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	42.9%±8.9Lowest CT: 52.6%	57.9%±22Highest CT: 52.6%
	Thomaston and Wallingford 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%	77.7%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1972Highest 5 yrs newer than CT	1961Lowest 6 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 8% below CT	27 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	13.3%±2Highest CT: 16%	7.6%±3.7Lowest CT: 16%
	Wallingford and Thomaston 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	#106 of 149 in CT
School district	Wallingford School District	Thomaston School District
High school in town	Lyman Hall High School	Thomaston High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.5Lowest	10.7Highest
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.