What stands out worked out from the figures below

Watertown has the most expensive homes ($334k median).

Chaplin has the most people working from home (18.1%).

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	Watertown	Chaplin
People
Population	22,253Highest	2,070Lowest
Median age	46.3±2.9Highest 13% above CT	43.7±4.8Lowest 6% above CT
	Watertown and Chaplin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	17.7%±2.6Highest CT: 20.2%	15.7%±4.2Lowest CT: 20.2%
	Watertown and Chaplin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23.3%±2.8Highest CT: 18.5%	20.9%±4.4Lowest CT: 18.5%
	Watertown and Chaplin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	38.6%Highest CT: 42.5%	25.4%Lowest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.2%±1.4Lowest CT: 7.1%	10.1%±6.2Highest CT: 7.1%
	Chaplin and Watertown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$101,691±$7kHighest 6% above CT	$97,846±$14kLowest about the CT average
	Watertown and Chaplin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$333,500±$16kHighest 9% below CT	$255,200±$24kLowest 30% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,275±$227Lowest 14% below CT	$1,473±$275Highest about the CT average
	Chaplin and Watertown are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$6,014Highest 9% below CT	$4,524Lowest 32% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	56.6%±13.3Highest CT: 52.6%	33.6%±27.7Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Watertown and Chaplin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	4.3%Lowest CT: 10%	5.4%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	83.9%Highest CT: 66.5%	82.9%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1969Lowest 2 yrs newer than CT	1979Highest 12 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 10% below CT	32 minHighest 22% above CT
Work from home	10.1%±2.3Lowest CT: 16%	18.1%±10Highest CT: 16%
	Chaplin and Watertown 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	#126 of 149 in CT	—
School district	Watertown School District	Chaplin School District · Regional School District 11
High school in town	Watertown High School	Parish Hill High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.6Highest	7.5Lowest
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.