Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT

Metro Area Profile

956,330 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metropolitan area.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 11 sources
Opportunity579th of 835 metro and micro areas measured41
Growth429th of 834 metro and micro areas measured49
Housing affordability701st of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
Climate550th of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
Physical resilience659th of 835 metro and micro areas measured31
AccessTop 45% of 835 metro and micro areas measured80
Economic stabilityTop 8% of 835 metro and micro areas measured88
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.5% and median household income $114,565, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

2,843 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 33% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 3.7 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
956,330
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$114,565
Top 1% nationally
Density
1,422/sq mi
672.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Connecticut
Nearest major airport
SWF
41 mi · New York Stewart Intl
Median home value
$564,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.5% — higher than in all but 13% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 4.2% over the past year, to 484,579 employed residents.

51% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 97% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Median household income of $114,565 is higher than in 99% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,7132024 ACS 5-Year$114,565Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0662024 ACS 5-Year$71,978Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.7 minBottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year50.9%Top 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year60.9%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026484,579Top 7%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.8%Bottom 13%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.2%Bottom 5%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026512,85493rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year83.2%Top 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$84,700Top 2%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$61,470Top 3%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS404,18084th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%99th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.3%Bottom 2%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.5%Bottom 13%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year19.4%96th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.42.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.5% 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.

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.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.8 students for every full-time teacher across 235 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
237
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.8
across 235 of them
Math proficiency
51.6%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
61.8%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 237 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%
Trumbull High SchoolTrumbull School District2,15214.568%80%
Stamford High SchoolStamford School District2,10214.137%56%
Central High SchoolBridgeport School District1,80318.615%36%
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%
Fairfield Ludlowe High SchoolFairfield School District1,36711.177%88%

40.4% 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 this 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 $9,039 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.60% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,875 a month.

A median home at $564,500 costs 3.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $153,411, 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.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
32.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,875
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$564,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury’s median household income of $114,565, 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 index2023107.0Bottom 6%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+5.1%75th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+53.3%80th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+84.2%33rd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.7Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year66.0%28th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1592024 ACS 5-Year377,56993rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year$1,875Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,2232024 ACS 5-Year$564,50096th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$792024 ACS 5-Year$9,03999th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,5282024 ACS 5-Year$153,411Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year1.60%91st percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year32.6%Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±6242024 ACS 5-Year4,82582nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%36th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%13th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,2272024 ACS 5-Year22,55788th percentileof 9352024 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

49/ 100
Ranks 429 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 972,679 in 2024.

76% of the 2,843 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.

At 3.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
2,843
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.0
Top 44% nationally
Year over year
−7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
76.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024973k943k
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.

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, 9.4 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

31 / 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 67% of it.

Inland floodingElevated
HurricaneElevated
Coastal floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. 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, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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 41 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year93.5%Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle41 miTop 50%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 15%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%Top 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
New York Stewart IntlSWF41 mi11,817 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK47 mi14,511 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR56 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
51
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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)
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
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.