Meriden, Connecticut

Area Profile

60,545 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Meriden, in South Central Connecticut Planning Region.

47out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 12% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity4,108th of 4,199 cities measured22
Schools2,633rd of 4,162 cities measured40
Growth2,536th of 4,224 cities measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 42% of 4,218 cities measured69
Climate3,273rd of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilience2,758th of 4,226 cities measured44
Access2,746th of 4,226 cities measured88
Economic stability2,855th of 4,226 cities measured48
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 7.0% and the Opportunity signal places Meriden in the bottom 2%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.9 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.5 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

Population
60,545
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,253
Top 44% nationally
Density
2,551/sq mi
23.7 sq mi of land
Median age
38.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BDL
28 mi · Bradley Intl
Median home value
$241,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 7.0% — higher than in all but 4% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 4.0% over the past year, to 28,852 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$74,90854th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$83,73769th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,2992024 ACS 5-Year$71,253Top 44%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9732024 ACS 5-Year$37,538Top 39%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.2%Bottom 44%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.8 minTop 40%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.2%Top 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.8%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202628,852Bottom 34%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−4.5%Bottom 6%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.0%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202631,02635th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.5%Top 49%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageNew Haven, CT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$75,620Top 27%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageNew Haven, CT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,060Top 20%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%89th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.8%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20267.0%Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%54th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.53.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 7.0% 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

202120222023202471k60k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $71,253 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 — New Haven, CT

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses10,050$104,490
Stockers and Order Fillers9,430$43,840
Home Health and Personal Care Aides7,370$39,720
Retail Salespersons6,810$35,950
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners6,210$37,890
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,900$35,290

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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.9 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.9
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
30.5%
Bottom 32% in Connecticut
Reading proficiency
47.1%
Bottom 38% in Connecticut
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Francis T. Maloney High SchoolMeriden School District1,29116.314%40%
Orville H. Platt High SchoolMeriden School District1,19117.510%38%
Edison Middle SchoolMeriden School District77314.3——
H. C. Wilcox Technical High SchoolConnecticut Technical Education and Career System75312.017%47%
Lincoln Middle SchoolMeriden School District68415.226%41%
Casimir Pulaski SchoolMeriden School District53914.649%49%
Washington Middle SchoolMeriden School District53613.732%42%
Nathan Hale SchoolMeriden School District48515.643%57%
Roger Sherman SchoolMeriden School District45713.832%41%
Hanover SchoolMeriden School District456—41%51%
Israel Putnam SchoolMeriden School District44514.855%61%
John Barry SchoolMeriden School District41814.452%58%

74.5% 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 5% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 105.4, 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 New Haven, CT Metro Area is up 55% over five years, and up 6.0% 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 $5,129 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.13% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,750, some 35% above the $1,294 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,750 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $70,000 a year, about 98% of the median household income here of $71,253.

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 $1,294 a month.

A median home at $241,200 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $95,969, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
105.4

Prices here run about 5% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the New Haven, 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
31.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,750
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,294
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$241,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Meriden’s median household income of $71,253, 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 New Haven, CT Metro Area’s figure2023105.4Bottom 33%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the New Haven, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.0%87th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the New Haven, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+54.9%89th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the New Haven, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+91.2%48th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.5Bottom 49%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year60.1%20th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7672024 ACS 5-Year26,58598th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,410Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,160Top 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,750Bottom 44%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$722024 ACS 5-Year$1,294Bottom 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,8802024 ACS 5-Year$241,20063rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2172024 ACS 5-Year$5,12990th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,9492024 ACS 5-Year$95,969Top 31%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year2.13%94th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Bottom 33%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1202024 ACS 5-Year12191st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%50th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3382024 ACS 5-Year1,95498th percentileof 32,3302024 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

46/ 100
Ranks 2,536 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 60,849 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show South Central Connecticut Planning Region, which contains Meriden, lost about 0.4% 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 $74,908, below the $83,737 of households that moved out.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
25
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 14% nationally
Year over year
+213%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
48.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202461k60k
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 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
56%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$74,908
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$83,737
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 2,326 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT 2,248 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Capitol Planning Region, CT 1,719 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  4. Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT 1,100 people · 5.5% of arrivals
  5. Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT 1,072 people · 5.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT 2,715 people · 13% of departures
  2. Capitol Planning Region, CT 2,229 people · 10% of departures
  3. Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT 1,574 people · 7.3% of departures
  4. Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT 1,273 people · 5.9% of departures
  5. Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT 720 people · 3.3% 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. This is the figure for South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420251379.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+178%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.9 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MERIDEN MARKHAM MUNI AP, 2.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°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

44 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and coastal flooding, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Ice stormModerate
Coastal floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate
LandslideModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
153
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,680
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Meriden's police department reported 153 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,680.

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Meriden’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Meriden (South Central Connecticut Planning Region) rather than Meriden itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

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

8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bradley Intl at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year90.1%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miBottom 30%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle8Top 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bradley IntlBDL28 mi9,510 ft
Westfield-Barnes RgnlBAF43 mi9,000 ft
Westover ARB/MetroCEF47 mi11,597 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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Area Score
47
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Other cities in New Haven, CT

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
New HavenSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region134,34943New Haven vs Meriden
West HavenSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region55,35147West Haven vs Meriden
MilfordSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region51,02354Milford vs Meriden
East HavenSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region27,80648
North HavenSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region24,33655
Wallingford CenterSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region18,20853
OrangeSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region14,31555

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Meriden side by side with a similar place.

Meriden vs East HartfordMeriden vs Norwich

Moving to Meriden from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
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 October 8, 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 codes in Meriden

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Meriden with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Meriden closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0645035,694$71,250$242,600—
0645124,851$71,255$239,800—