Best PlacesNortheastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Northeastern Connecticut 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.
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks 620th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Northeastern Connecticut 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.
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of counties
Where Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,310 a month, better than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of counties
- Short commute29.0 minutes each way, better than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,722, 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region's effective rate of 1.37%, 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region.
Who works in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, and how
Work in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
The coast is about 47 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, which the map shows.
Is Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region growing, and who is moving in?
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region has grown about 3% over the last decade.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Northeastern Connecticut 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, month by month
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 39 miles away.
The best schools in and around Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Schools across Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region average a C+, better than 56% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pomfret Community SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Voluntown Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Eastford Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Woodstock Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Brooklyn Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- E. O. Smith High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Shepherd Hill Regional HighA− · 60% proficient
- Wheeler High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northeastern Connecticut 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 Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Is Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks 620th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and big-city access, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $308,427. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $95,722 median income, cost of living beats 87% of counties.
Is Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region safe?
Yes, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region is safer than 85% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 20. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of counties.
Is Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region good for families?
Schools beat 56% of counties, crime safety beats 85%, and childcare runs $1,310 a month.
Compare Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northeastern Connecticut 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.
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northeastern Connecticut 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.