Best PlacesLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ranks 124th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $112,342, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, state finances, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
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.
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region's strengths and weaknesses
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Civic engagement is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Health care access and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. State finances and property taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
Where Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,568 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
A household needs to earn about $110,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $112,342, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region's effective rate of 1.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region runs older 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region.
Who works in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, and how
Work in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
The coast is about 21 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, which the map shows.
Is Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region growing, and who is moving in?
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has grown about 2% over the last decade.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, month by month
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 26° |
| April | 59° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 33 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
Schools across Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region average a B, better than 80% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lyme Consolidated SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Mile Creek SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Salem Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Walter C. Polson Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Lyme-old Lyme Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Westbrook Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Daniel Hand High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Lyme-old Lyme High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Marine Science Magnet High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
Is Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ranks 124th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $377,897. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $112,342 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region safe?
Yes, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region is safer than 95% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $166 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 26. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of counties.
Is Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region good for families?
Schools beat 80% of counties, crime safety beats 95%, and childcare runs $1,568 a month.
Is Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region 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.
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.