Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT
County Profile
113,216 residents. Jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 10 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Northwest Hills Planning Region in the bottom 21%.
116 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.
Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.1 times what its owners earn.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 21% of the 1,467 measured US counties.
Employment fell 5.4% over the past year, to 56,812 employed residents.
39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US counties.
Median household income of $93,551 is higher than in 93% of measured US counties.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023 | $107,171 | 95th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023 | $102,217 | 96th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$3,1072024 ACS 5-Year | $93,551 | Top 7%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,3442024 ACS 5-Year | $56,236 | Top 3%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.6% | Top 17%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.2 min | Bottom 33%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 39.4% | Top 9%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 71.5% | 18th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 56,812 | Top 36%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −5.6% | Bottom 5%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −5.4% | Bottom 3%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 59,795 | 64th percentileof 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 83.1% | Top 13%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.1% | 87th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +1.2% | Bottom 3%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 5.0% | Bottom 21%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 15.2% | 87th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 10.8 students for every full-time teacher across 34 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torrington High School | Torrington School District | 1,034 | 12.0 | 22% | 47% |
| Torrington Middle School | Torrington School District | 981 | 12.1 | 27% | 44% |
| Har-Bur Middle School | Regional School District 10 | 669 | 11.7 | 67% | 72% |
| Oliver Wolcott Technical High School | Connecticut Technical Education and Career System | 643 | 12.4 | 12% | 37% |
| Lewis S. Mills High School | Regional School District 10 | 614 | 11.6 | 52% | 82% |
| Torringford School | Torrington School District | 583 | 12.1 | 47% | 47% |
| Northwestern Regional High School | Regional School District 07 | 536 | 9.7 | 77% | 82% |
| Vogel-Wetmore School | Torrington School District | 529 | 11.8 | 42% | 47% |
| Shepaug Valley School | Regional School District 12 | 486 | 9.2 | 64% | 70% |
| Lake Garda Elementary School | Regional School District 10 | 466 | 14.1 | 77% | 77% |
| The Gilbert School | The Gilbert School District | 452 | 12.2 | 40% | 54% |
| Harwinton Consolidated School | Regional School District 10 | 374 | 12.1 | 82% | 72% |
40.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Connecticut’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Connecticut is up 56% over five years, and up 8.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,593 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.67% of the median home value.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,193 a month.
A median home at $335,600 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $108,761, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
The figures above are measured against Northwest Hills Planning Region’s median household income of $93,551, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Connecticut’s figure2026 Q2 | +8.1% | 97th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Connecticut’s figure2026 Q2 | +56.3% | 88th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Connecticut’s figure2026 Q2 | +106.0% | 71st percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year | 3.1 | Bottom 27%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 76.3% | 59th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±712024 ACS 5-Year | 55,752 | 84th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$332024 ACS 5-Year | $1,193 | Bottom 17%of 3,216 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$8,2782024 ACS 5-Year | $335,600 | 85th percentileof 3,219 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1312024 ACS 5-Year | $5,593 | 97th percentileof 3,172 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$4,0982024 ACS 5-Year | $108,761 | Top 9%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.67% | 94th percentileof 3,126 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.5% | Top 47%of 3,217 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±4582024 ACS 5-Year | 4,721 | 93rd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.5% | 77th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.7% | 22nd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±5902024 ACS 5-Year | 7,907 | 88th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 114,101 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 115 units authorized in 2025, 25% below the prior year.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 116 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Northwest Hills Planning Region gained about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $107,171, close to the $102,217 of households that moved out.
At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 1,001 people · 21% of arrivals
- Capitol Planning Region, CT 830 people · 18% of arrivals
- Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT 383 people · 8.1% of arrivals
- New York County, NY 197 people · 4.2% of arrivals
- Dutchess County, NY 104 people · 2.2% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Capitol Planning Region, CT 737 people · 17% of departures
- Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 737 people · 17% of departures
- Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT 209 people · 4.9% of departures
- New York County, NY 158 people · 3.7% of departures
- Berkshire County, MA 79 people · 1.8% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 16°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 45.8 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 45.8" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 16°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 83°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 46°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 78% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, avalanche, cold wave, strong wind, lightning, hail, drought, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Death-certificate rates
- The CDC publishes these rates by county, and no county figure could be attached to this page.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bradley Intl at 28 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.4% | Top 7%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 28 mi | Top 40%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 8 | Top 2%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.8% | Top 10%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Intl | BDL | 28 mi | 9,510 ft |
| Westfield-Barnes Rgnl | BAF | 33 mi | 9,000 ft |
| Westover ARB/Metro | CEF | 42 mi | 11,597 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated September 26, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.