Best PlacesDowntown Hartford, Hartford, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Hartford, Hartford, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Hartford, Hartford ranks 3,296th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Hartford, Hartford
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Hartford, Hartford's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Hartford, Hartford ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Hartford, Hartford ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Hartford, Hartford
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Hartford, Hartford home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,513, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Hartford, Hartford's effective rate of 1.91%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Hartford, Hartford
Downtown Hartford, Hartford runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Hartford, Hartford.
Who works in Downtown Hartford, Hartford, and how
Work in Downtown Hartford, Hartford centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 27%
Life in Downtown Hartford, Hartford
Downtown Hartford, Hartford has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 37 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Hartford, Hartford and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Hartford, Hartford, month by month
Downtown Hartford, Hartford sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Hartford, Hartford
Bradley International sits about 12 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.3 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown Hartford, Hartford
Schools across Downtown Hartford, Hartford average a D, better than 15% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Betances Learning Lab Magnet SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Breakthrough Magnet School NorthD+ · 22% proficient
- Montessori Magnet At Batchelder SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Renzulli Gifted And Talented AcademyA · 63% proficient
- Betances Stem Magnet SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Mcdonough Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- University High School Of Science And EngineeringC+ · 38% proficient
- Classical Magnet SchoolD · 19% proficient
- Bulkeley High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Hartford, Hartford school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Hartford, Hartford measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Hartford, Hartford against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Hartford, Hartford
Is Downtown Hartford, Hartford a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Hartford, Hartford ranks 3,296th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and civic engagement, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Hartford, Hartford expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $260,134. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $63,513 median income, cost of living beats 55% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Hartford, Hartford safe?
Downtown Hartford, Hartford is safer than 2% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $888 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Hartford, Hartford with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Hartford, Hartford. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Hartford, Hartford represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Hartford, Hartford detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Hartford, Hartford: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Hartford, Hartford: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Hartford, Hartford: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Hartford, Hartford: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Hartford, Hartford detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.