06708 — Waterbury, Connecticut

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 06708. Its median household income runs 30% above Waterbury as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 7% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity3,065th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured17
Schools2,168th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured34
GrowthTop 48% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured51
Housing affordabilityTop 46% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured69
Climate2,432nd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured62
Physical resilience2,223rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured38
Access2,176th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured85
Economic stability2,249th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured41
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 8.9% and the Opportunity signal places 06708 in the bottom 2%. The unemployment rate is published for Waterbury, CT, which contains 06708, rather than for 06708 alone.

In the public schools here, 20% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.1 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
29,594
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$67,364
Bottom 43% nationally
Density
3,132/sq mi
9.4 sq mi of land
Median age
38.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Waterbury
Connecticut
Nearest major airport
BDL
33 mi · Bradley Intl
Median home value
$218,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Waterbury, CT, which contains 06708, is 8.9% — higher than in all but 1% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Waterbury, CT, which contains 06708, fell 4.2% over the past year, to 47,567 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNaugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,89645th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNaugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,92152nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,0422024 ACS 5-Year$67,364Bottom 43%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,9182024 ACS 5-Year$34,563Bottom 43%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%Bottom 26%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.6 minBottom 40%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.2%Bottom 47%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.1%43rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWaterbury, CT’s figureJuly 202647,567Top 50%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Waterbury, CT’s figureJuly 2026−5.3%Bottom 3%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Waterbury, CT’s figureJuly 2026−4.2%Bottom 3%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceWaterbury, CT’s figureJuly 202652,21451st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.7%Top 48%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageWaterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$69,080Top 38%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageWaterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,440Top 36%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.8%86th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Waterbury, CT’s figureJuly 2026+2.4%Bottom 1%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateWaterbury, CT’s figureJuly 20268.9%Bottom 1%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%53rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202467k59k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $67,364 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 — Waterbury-Shelton, CT

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides6,360$37,690
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,860$34,850
Cashiers3,450$35,100
Stockers and Order Fillers3,430$37,890
General and Operations Managers3,370$130,900
Retail Salespersons3,310$35,360

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Waterbury, CT, the city containing this ZIP code.

20% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 36% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.1 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
20.4%
Bottom 23% in Connecticut
Reading proficiency
35.8%
Bottom 19% in Connecticut
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
John F. Kennedy High SchoolWaterbury School District1,39114.310%25%
West Side Middle SchoolWaterbury School District84810.79%26%
W. F. Kaynor Technical High SchoolConnecticut Technical Education and Career System83111.722%52%
B. W. Tinker SchoolWaterbury School District57816.124%32%
ACES at ChaseArea Cooperative Educational Services55613.641%50%
Carrington SchoolWaterbury School District45513.433%46%
Bunker Hill SchoolWaterbury School District44514.820%29%
Duggan SchoolWaterbury School District42912.329%42%

71.9% 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 1% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 101.0, 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 Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area is up 55% over five years, and up 3.9% 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 $5,815 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.66% 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 $1,313 a month.

A median home at $218,500 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,045, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
101.0

Prices here run about 1% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Waterbury-Shelton, 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
31.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,313
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$218,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 06708’s median household income of $67,364, 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 Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area’s figure2023101.0Bottom 42%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.9%67th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+55.2%88th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+94.6%48th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 43%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year59.3%15th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6152024 ACS 5-Year12,95789th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$1,313Bottom 29%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,7182024 ACS 5-Year$218,50050th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2302024 ACS 5-Year$5,81591st percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,5382024 ACS 5-Year$86,045Top 46%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.19%2024 ACS 5-Year2.66%99th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.8%Bottom 31%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1112024 ACS 5-Year10676th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%47th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%51st percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2762024 ACS 5-Year1,02588th percentileof 33,7722024 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

51/ 100
Top 48% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

79% of the 116 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. The multifamily share is published for Waterbury, CT, which contains 06708, rather than for 06708 alone.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Waterbury, CT, which contains 06708, rather than for 06708 alone.

Units permitted
116
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 23% nationally
Year over year
+222%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
79.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
38%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,896
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$69,921
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Capitol Planning Region, CT 2,914 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT 2,784 people · 15% of arrivals
  3. South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT 2,715 people · 14% of arrivals
  4. Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT 1,990 people · 11% of arrivals
  5. Bronx County, NY 1,099 people · 5.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Capitol Planning Region, CT 3,216 people · 18% of departures
  2. South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT 2,326 people · 13% of departures
  3. Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT 1,309 people · 7.5% of departures
  4. Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT 1,003 people · 5.8% of departures
  5. Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT 1,001 people · 5.8% 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. This is the figure for Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Waterbury, CT, the city containing this ZIP code.

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, 12.9 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

38 / 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 72% of it.

Inland floodingElevated
HurricaneElevated
Ice stormModerate
LandslideModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Waterbury carries the figure where its 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

8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bradley Intl at 33 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year89.6%Top 49%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle33 miBottom 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle8Top 6%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%Bottom 46%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bradley IntlBDL33 mi9,510 ft
Westfield-Barnes RgnlBAF46 mi9,000 ft
Westover ARB/MetroCEF52 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
44
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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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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. 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.

06708 vs Waterbury

How this ZIP area compares with Waterbury as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

06708
Waterbury
Median household income: 06708 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$67,364
vs
$51,886
Per capita income: 06708 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$34,563
vs
$29,542
Population density
3,132/sq mi
vs
4,022/sq mi
Median home value
$218,500
vs
$208,500
Median gross rent: Waterbury is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,313
vs
$1,225
Homeownership rate
59.3%
vs
47.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 06708 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
22.2%
vs
17.3%
Poverty rate: 06708 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
16.4%
vs
24.2%
Median age
38.5
vs
37.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.