What stands out worked out from the figures below

Winchester has the most affordable homes ($250k median).

Bethany has the highest household income ($166k).

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	Winchester	Bethany
People
Population	10,284Highest	5,288Lowest
Median age	49.1±6.2Highest 19% above CT	42.5±2.9Lowest 3% above CT
	Winchester and Bethany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	15.4%±2.9Lowest CT: 20.2%	20.3%±5.9Highest CT: 20.2%
	Bethany and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	27.4%±5.1Highest CT: 18.5%	17.2%±4.2Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	27.8%Lowest CT: 42.5%	58%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.2%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%	6.8%±3.7Highest CT: 7.1%
	Bethany and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$66,519±$12kLowest 31% below CT	$166,236±$20kHighest 74% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$249,500±$17kLowest 32% below CT	$418,000±$42kHighest 14% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,174±$116 21% below CT	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,780Lowest 28% below CT	$8,313Highest 25% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	48.9%±15.8Highest CT: 52.6%	0%±100Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Winchester and Bethany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	12.8%Highest CT: 10%	2.3%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	65.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	97.2%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1955Lowest 12 yrs older than CT	1970Highest 3 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest about the CT average	32 minHighest 21% above CT
Work from home	6.9%±2.7Lowest CT: 16%	12%±5.2Highest CT: 16%
	Bethany and Winchester 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	#97 of 149 in CT	#30 of 149 in CT
School district	Explorations District · Regional School District 07	Bethany School District · Regional School District 05
High school in town	Northwestern Regional High School	None in town
Students per teacherat that high school	9.7	—
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.