What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Brookfield has the highest household income ($148k).

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	Brookfield
People
Population	3,676Lowest	17,706Highest
Median age	49.9±5.5Highest 21% above CT	44.3±1.8Lowest 8% above CT
	Washington and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19%±4.7Lowest CT: 20.2%	22.7%±3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Brookfield and Washington 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%	18.8%±2.8Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Washington and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	53.7%Lowest CT: 42.5%	58.3%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.4%±3.3Highest CT: 7.1%	4.3%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Washington and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$101,549±$16kLowest 6% above CT	$148,360±$11kHighest 55% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$660,200±$130kHighest 80% above CT	$479,700±$24kLowest 31% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$264Lowest 19% below CT	$1,892±$183Highest 27% above CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,709Lowest 29% below CT	$7,594Highest 14% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	26.1%±24Lowest CT: 52.6%	35.9%±13.1Highest CT: 52.6%
	Brookfield 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%	4.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	79%Lowest CT: 66.5%	86.5%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1971Lowest 4 yrs newer than CT	1978Highest 11 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest 4% below CT	28 minHighest 6% above CT
Work from home	20.1%±9Highest CT: 16%	16.3%±3Lowest CT: 16%
	Washington and Brookfield 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	#67 of 149 in CT
School district	Regional School District 12	Brookfield School District
High school in town	Shepaug Valley School	Brookfield High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.1Lowest	12.7Highest
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.