What stands out worked out from the figures below

Willimantic has the most affordable homes ($191k median).

New Haven has the most people working from home (13.9%).

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	Willimantic	New Haven
People
Population	18,096Lowest	134,349Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+2.3%Lowest CT: +0.9%	+3.3%Highest CT: +0.9%
Median age	31.3±2.7Lowest 24% below CT	31.9±0.5Highest 22% below CT
	New Haven and Willimantic are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20.6%±2.5Lowest CT: 20.2%	21.3%±1Highest CT: 20.2%
	New Haven and Willimantic are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	11%±1.7Lowest CT: 18.5%	11.8%±0.8Highest CT: 18.5%
	New Haven and Willimantic are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	24.2%Lowest CT: 42.5%	38.9%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	19.1%±2.1Highest CT: 7.1%	14.9%±0.8Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$45,962±$7kLowest 52% below CT	$56,851±$4kHighest 41% below CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$190,900±$17kLowest 48% below CT	$287,100±$16kHighest 22% below CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,063±$68Lowest 29% below CT	$1,488±$33Highest about the CT average
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,678Lowest 30% below CT	$6,430Highest 3% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	55.9%±8.1Lowest CT: 52.6%	56.6%±3.2Highest CT: 52.6%
	New Haven and Willimantic are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	23.4%Lowest CT: 10%	23.9%Highest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	34.9%Highest CT: 66.5%	28.4%Lowest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1953Lowest 14 yrs older than CT	1954Highest 13 yrs older than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	23 minHighest 12% below CT	22 minLowest 19% below CT
Work from home	6.2%±2Lowest CT: 16%	13.9%±1.6Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	—	#145 of 149 in CT
School district	—	Common Ground High School District · Elm City Montessori School District
High school in town	—	Wilbur Cross High School
Students per teacherat that high school	—	13.7
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.