What stands out worked out from the figures below

Waterford has the shortest commute (22 min average).

Brooklyn has the most affordable homes ($315k 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	Waterford	Brooklyn
People
Population	19,673Highest	8,517Lowest
Median age	46±2.4Highest 12% above CT	45.6±2.5Lowest 11% above CT
	Waterford and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.1%±2.5Lowest CT: 20.2%	20.6%±4.6Highest CT: 20.2%
	Brooklyn and Waterford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.6%±2.1Highest CT: 18.5%	17.6%±2.9Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Waterford and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	40.6%Highest CT: 42.5%	23.9%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.6%±1.5Highest CT: 7.1%	5.4%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%
	Waterford and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$104,820±$9kHighest 9% above CT	$96,207±$15kLowest about the CT average
	Waterford and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$355,900±$14kHighest about the CT average	$315,200±$28kLowest 14% below CT
	Waterford and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,651±$153Highest 11% above CT	$1,125±$98Lowest 24% below CT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,876Highest 27% below CT	$4,538Lowest 32% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	44.4%±12Highest CT: 52.6%	38.5%±19.3Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Waterford and Brooklyn are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	4.6%Highest CT: 10%	2.3%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	79.7%Lowest CT: 66.5%	81.7%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1968Lowest 1 yr newer than CT	1978Highest 11 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	22 minLowest 18% below CT	27 minHighest about the CT average
Work from home	10.2%±2.2Lowest CT: 16%	10.7%±5.4Highest CT: 16%
	Brooklyn and Waterford 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	#80 of 149 in CT	#113 of 149 in CT
School district	Learn · Waterford School District	Brooklyn School District
High school in town	Waterford High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	11.1	—
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.