What stands out worked out from the figures below

Willington has the youngest population (median age 37.5).

Columbia has the most people working from home (21.6%).

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	Willington	Columbia
People
Population	5,575Highest	5,300Lowest
Median age	37.5±7.2Lowest 9% below CT	51.3±10.3Highest 25% above CT
	Columbia and Willington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	12.8%±4.9Lowest CT: 20.2%	13.7%±4.3Highest CT: 20.2%
	Columbia and Willington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	23.3%±6.4Lowest CT: 18.5%	24.9%±5.4Highest CT: 18.5%
	Columbia and Willington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	33.2%Lowest CT: 42.5%	34.6%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	14.6%±6.8Highest CT: 7.1%	4.8%±2.5Lowest CT: 7.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$91,114±$12kLowest 5% below CT	$127,000±$30kHighest 33% above CT
	Columbia and Willington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$305,800±$48kLowest 17% below CT	$361,500±$16kHighest about the CT average
	Columbia and Willington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,357±$116Highest 9% below CT	$966±$304Lowest 35% below CT
	Willington and Columbia are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,419Highest 18% below CT	$5,228Lowest 21% below CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	70%±20.6Highest CT: 52.6%	17.6%±16.2Lowest CT: 52.6%
Below poverty line	13%Highest CT: 10%	6.1%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	64%Lowest CT: 66.5%	83.3%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Lowest 9 yrs newer than CT	1984Highest 17 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest about the CT average	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	10.5%±4.7Lowest CT: 16%	21.6%±6Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#104 of 149 in CT	#114 of 149 in CT
School district	Willington School District	Columbia School District
High school in town	None in town	None in town
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.