Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT

County Profile

627,071 residents. Jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 27% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 11 sources
Opportunity1,066th of 1,463 counties measured44
GrowthTop 45% of 1,453 counties measured53
Housing affordability1,225th of 1,462 counties measured60
Climate1,037th of 1,463 counties measured62
Physical resilience1,126th of 1,463 counties measured36
AccessTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured82
Economic stabilityTop 9% of 1,463 counties measured89
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Western Connecticut Planning Region in the bottom 27%.

2,254 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 8% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 3.9 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.

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

Population
627,071
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$128,188
Top 1% nationally
Density
1,178/sq mi
532.1 sq mi of land
Median age
41.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Western Connecticut Planning Region
Connecticut
Nearest major airport
SWF
37 mi · New York Stewart Intl
Median home value
$652,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 21% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 4.2% over the past year, to 323,073 employed residents.

56% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $128,188 is higher than in 99% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$185,65899th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$152,62299th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,3702024 ACS 5-Year$128,188Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4002024 ACS 5-Year$82,266Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year7.4%Top 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.6 minBottom 13%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year55.5%Top 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year59.3%3rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026323,073Top 8%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.9%Bottom 12%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.2%Bottom 5%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026340,13293rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year83.7%Top 11%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.3%Bottom 2%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.0%Bottom 21%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year21.5%97th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.62.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202220232024128k119k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $128,188 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons12,230$37,330
General and Operations Managers11,140$137,230
Home Health and Personal Care Aides10,850$38,110
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,660$36,550
Registered Nurses8,370$105,660
Cashiers8,210$36,420

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

58% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 67% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.3 students for every full-time teacher across 146 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
146
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
57.8%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
67.3%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 146 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Danbury High SchoolDanbury School District3,61215.722%52%
Greenwich High SchoolGreenwich School District2,62013.466%83%
Westhill High SchoolStamford School District2,22414.437%54%
Stamford High SchoolStamford School District2,10214.137%56%
Brien McMahon High SchoolNorwalk School District1,73914.730%49%
Staples High SchoolWestport School District1,62910.779%93%
Norwalk High SchoolNorwalk School District1,49414.231%51%
Ridgefield High SchoolRidgefield School District1,41111.581%93%
Darien High SchoolDarien School District1,38210.886%92%
Saxe Middle SchoolNew Canaan School District1,27110.987%90%
New Canaan High SchoolNew Canaan School District1,25712.381%94%
Newtown High SchoolNewtown School District1,25411.671%86%

32.6% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 107.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metro Area is up 53% over five years, and up 5.1% 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 $9,295 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.42% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,110 a month.

A median home at $652,900 costs 3.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $168,617, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
107.0

Prices here run about 7% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$2,110
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$652,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Western Connecticut Planning Region’s median household income of $128,188, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metro Area’s figure2023107.0Bottom 9%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.1%75th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+53.3%83rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+84.2%33rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.9Bottom 13%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year66.4%19th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1402024 ACS 5-Year251,53096th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$342024 ACS 5-Year$2,110Bottom 1%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,5282024 ACS 5-Year$652,90098th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$982024 ACS 5-Year$9,29599th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,7902024 ACS 5-Year$168,617Top 1%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year1.42%87th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year31.5%Bottom 17%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5502024 ACS 5-Year4,12392nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%37th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%14th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,0822024 ACS 5-Year16,15195th percentileof 3,2222024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

53/ 100
Top 45% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2023 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 3% since 2020, reaching 637,013 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 2,769 units authorized in 2025, up 141% on the prior year.

76% of the 2,254 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Western Connecticut Planning Region lost about 0.6% 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 $185,658, above the $152,622 of households that moved out.

At 3.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
2,254
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.6
Top 41% nationally
Year over year
+8%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
76.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024637k619k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
81%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$185,658
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$152,622
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Westchester County, NY 3,499 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. New York County, NY 2,394 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT 1,830 people · 7.9% of arrivals
  4. Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 1,003 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Bronx County, NY 950 people · 4.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT 3,109 people · 12% of departures
  2. Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 1,990 people · 7.5% of departures
  3. New York County, NY 1,941 people · 7.3% of departures
  4. Westchester County, NY 1,475 people · 5.6% of departures
  5. South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT 1,072 people · 4.1% 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

2023202420253k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2023 (+111%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DANBURY MUNI AP, 6.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

36 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 71% of it.

Inland floodingElevated
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Coastal floodingModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, ice storm, winter weather, heat wave, lightning, tornado, cold wave, drought, wildfire, hail, avalanche, volcanic activity, tsunami.

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.
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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest New York Stewart Intl at 37 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year94.7%Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle37 miBottom 47%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 13%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%Top 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
New York Stewart IntlSWF37 mi11,817 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK47 mi14,511 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR55 mi9,999 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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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.