What stands out worked out from the figures below

Washington has the most expensive homes ($660k median).

Beacon Falls has the most affordable homes ($350k 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	Washington	Beacon Falls
People
Population	3,676Lowest	6,147Highest
Median age	49.9±5.5Highest 21% above CT	48.4±3.8Lowest 18% above CT
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19%±4.7Highest CT: 20.2%	18%±4.8Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	26.9%±5.3Highest CT: 18.5%	23.5%±4.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	53.7%Highest CT: 42.5%	44.6%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.4%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%	5.3%±3.2Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$101,549±$16kHighest 6% above CT	$101,516±$42kLowest 6% above CT
	Washington and Beacon Falls are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$660,200±$130kHighest 80% above CT	$350,300±$34kLowest 5% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$264Lowest 19% below CT	$1,921±$286Highest 29% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,709Lowest 29% below CT	$6,534Highest about the CT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	26.1%±24Lowest CT: 52.6%	50.7%±30.4Highest CT: 52.6%
	Beacon Falls and Washington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	9%Highest CT: 10%	2.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	79%Lowest CT: 66.5%	85.5%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT	1985Highest 18 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest 4% below CT	33 minHighest 23% above CT
Work from home	20.1%±9Lowest CT: 16%	20.3%±7.4Highest CT: 16%
	Beacon Falls and Washington 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	#17 of 149 in CT	#77 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 12	Regional School District 16
High school in town	Shepaug Valley School	Woodland Regional High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.1Lowest	11.2Highest
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.