06256 — Willimantic, Connecticut

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 06256. Its median household income runs 75% above Willimantic as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 42% of 3,116 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 11 sources
Opportunity2,942nd of 3,119 ZIP areas measured26
SchoolsTop 33% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured63
Growth1,991st of 3,124 ZIP areas measured43
Housing affordabilityTop 1% of 3,115 ZIP areas measured100
Climate2,507th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured62
Physical resilience1,775th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured51
Access2,096th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured86
Economic stabilityTop 31% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured65
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.5% and the Opportunity signal places 06256 in the bottom 6%. The unemployment rate is published for Willimantic, CT, which contains 06256, rather than for 06256 alone.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.7 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most ZIP areas measured: rent takes 18% of renter income and the median home is 2.3 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
1,704
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,333
Top 37% nationally
Density
226/sq mi
7.6 sq mi of land
Median age
50.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Willimantic
Connecticut
Nearest major airport
BDL
31 mi · Bradley Intl
Median home value
$187,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Willimantic, CT, which contains 06256, is 5.5% — higher than in all but 14% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Willimantic, CT, which contains 06256, fell 4.2% over the past year, to 133,778 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSoutheastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$67,31549th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSoutheastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,82451st percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$16,5602024 ACS 5-Year$80,333Top 37%of 31,1382024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,3572024 ACS 5-Year$42,224Top 33%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year9.8%Top 47%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±8.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.3 minBottom 20%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year20.6%Bottom 42%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±33%2024 ACS 5-Year80.7%69th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWillimantic, CT’s figureJuly 2026133,778Top 26%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Willimantic, CT’s figureJuly 2026−2.6%Bottom 17%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Willimantic, CT’s figureJuly 2026−4.2%Bottom 3%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceWillimantic, CT’s figureJuly 2026141,60474th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Top 16%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageNorwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,810Top 28%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageNorwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$57,370Top 20%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Willimantic, CT’s figureJuly 2026+1.3%Bottom 2%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateWillimantic, CT’s figureJuly 20265.5%Bottom 14%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%31st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202480k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $80,333 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 — Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons3,580$35,740
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,220$34,800
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,920$39,570
Cashiers2,820$35,010
Waiters and Waitresses2,620$37,880
Registered Nurses2,460$101,330

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 Willimantic, CT, the city containing this ZIP code.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.7 students for every full-time teacher across 2 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
2
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
41.8%
Top 39% in Connecticut
Reading proficiency
48.2%
Bottom 48% in Connecticut
All 2 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Charles H. Barrows STEM AcademyWindham School District53511.455%60%
North Windham SchoolWindham School District44512.026%34%

62.8% 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 100.7, 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area is up 61% over five years, and up 6.4% 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 $3,000 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.60% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 18% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home at $187,700 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,778, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
100.7

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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, 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
17.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
—
what tenants now pay ·
Median home value
$187,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 06256’s median household income of $80,333, 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area’s figure2023100.7Bottom 42%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.4%95th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+60.9%96th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+107.0%67th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 32%of 29,3222024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year87.9%76th percentileof 32,9062024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1992024 ACS 5-Year87743rd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$38,6942024 ACS 5-Year$187,70041st percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1,2592024 ACS 5-Year$3,00070th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,8502024 ACS 5-Year$82,778Top 50%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.75%2024 ACS 5-Year1.60%86th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year17.7%Top 9%of 26,3322024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±282024 ACS 5-Year1846th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.1%59th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%41st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±812024 ACS 5-Year6732nd 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

43/ 100
Ranks 1,991 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.

At 2.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Willimantic, CT, which contains 06256, rather than for 06256 alone.

Units permitted
624
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.2
Bottom 40% nationally
Year over year
+22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
51.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
67%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$67,315
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$69,824
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Capitol Planning Region, CT 1,363 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT 792 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  3. Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT 727 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  4. Washington County, RI 576 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT 448 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Capitol Planning Region, CT 1,224 people · 11% of departures
  2. Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT 727 people · 6.6% of departures
  3. Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT 656 people · 6.0% of departures
  4. Washington County, RI 362 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT 256 people · 2.3% 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 Southeastern Connecticut 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 Willimantic, 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 83°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.3 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WILLIMANTIC WINDHAM AP, 1.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°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

51 / 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 62% of it.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate
Coastal floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, winter weather, lightning, strong wind, tornado, hail, cold wave, wildfire, drought, 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. Willimantic 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

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bradley Intl at 31 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year97.2%Top 10%of 32,8192024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle31 miBottom 29%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%Top 1%of 32,8192024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bradley IntlBDL31 mi9,510 ft
Westover ARB/MetroCEF37 mi11,597 ft
Rhode Island TF Green IntlPVD38 mi8,700 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
56
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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
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
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.

06256 vs Willimantic

How this ZIP area compares with Willimantic 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.

06256
Willimantic
Median household income: 06256 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$80,333
vs
$45,962
Per capita income: 06256 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$42,224
vs
$24,106
Population density
226/sq mi
vs
3,338/sq mi
Median home value
$187,700
vs
$190,900
Homeownership rate
87.9%
vs
34.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Willimantic is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
20.6%
vs
24.2%
Poverty rate: 06256 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
9.8%
vs
22.1%
Median age
50.2
vs
31.3

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.