What stands out worked out from the figures below

Willimantic has the most kids (36.5% under 18).

Lowell has the most expensive homes ($210k 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	Willimantic	Lowell
People
Population	200Lowest	378Highest
Median age	38.5±11.9Lowest 14% below ME	55.5±8.6Highest 24% above ME
	Lowell and Willimantic are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	36.5%±11.4Highest ME: 18.1%	13.2%±4.4Lowest ME: 18.1%
Age 65+	25.5%±16.2Lowest ME: 22.4%	31.2%±4.7Highest ME: 22.4%
	Lowell and Willimantic are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	15.1%Lowest ME: 36.2%	30%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4%±6.9Highest ME: 5.8%	1.9%±1.9Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Willimantic and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$63,472±$52kHighest 15% below ME	$50,833±$31kLowest 32% below ME
	Willimantic and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$131,700±$21kLowest 56% below ME	$209,700±$30kHighest 29% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,285Lowest 58% below ME	$1,478Highest 51% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	80%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	32.5%Highest ME: 10.7%	10.8%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.2%Highest ME: 74.3%	88.5%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1986Lowest 9 yrs newer than ME	1990Highest 13 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	23 minLowest 6% below ME	31 minHighest 24% above ME
Work from home	13.8%±13.9Highest ME: 15.9%	10.8%±5.7Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Willimantic and Lowell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

ME 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.