What stands out worked out from the figures below

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

Monroe has the highest household income ($157k).

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	Monroe
People
Population	10,284Lowest	18,949Highest
Median age	49.1±6.2Highest 19% above CT	43.5±2.2Lowest 6% above CT
	Winchester and Monroe 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%	25.2%±3Highest CT: 20.2%
Age 65+	27.4%±5.1Highest CT: 18.5%	15.6%±2Lowest CT: 18.5%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	27.8%Lowest CT: 42.5%	57.3%Highest CT: 42.5%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.2%±1.7Lowest CT: 7.1%	5.1%±1.8Highest CT: 7.1%
	Monroe 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	$157,250±$12kHighest 64% above CT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$249,500±$17kLowest 32% below CT	$503,200±$31kHighest 37% above CT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,174±$116Highest 21% below CT	$994±$860Lowest 33% below CT
	Winchester and Monroe are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,780Lowest 28% below CT	$10,000+Highest at least 51% above CT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	48.9%±15.8Highest CT: 52.6%	48.8%±46.4Lowest CT: 52.6%
	Winchester and Monroe 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%	2.6%Lowest CT: 10%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	65.8%Lowest CT: 66.5%	95.7%Highest CT: 66.5%
Typical home builtmedian year	1955Lowest 12 yrs older than CT	1978Highest 11 yrs newer than CT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest about the CT average	34 minHighest 29% above CT
Work from home	6.9%±2.7Lowest CT: 16%	15.4%±3.3Highest CT: 16%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#97 of 149 in CT	#48 of 149 in CT
School district	Explorations District · Regional School District 07	Monroe School District
High school in town	Northwestern Regional High School	Masuk High School
Students per teacherat that high school	9.7Lowest	12.8Highest
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.