Best PlacesSoutheastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Southeastern 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.
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks 565th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $92,556, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, state finances, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Southeastern 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.
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region's strengths and weaknesses
Southeastern Connecticut 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. Fast internet and big-city access follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and childcare costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- TransitBetter than 90% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of counties
Where Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,310 a month, better than only 6% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $92,556; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region's effective rate of 1.69%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region.
Who works in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, and how
Work in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, which the map shows.
Is Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region growing, and who is moving in?
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region has grown about 2% over the last decade.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Southeastern 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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, month by month
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 83° | 74° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
The nearest airport, Westerly State, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Schools across Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region average a B−, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lyme Consolidated SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Salem Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Deans Mill SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stonington Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Westbrook Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- East Lyme Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Marine Science Magnet High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- East Lyme High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Stonington High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southeastern 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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
Is Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region ranks 565th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and big-city access, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,039. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $92,556 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region safe?
Yes, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region is safer than 66% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $239 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of counties.
Is Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region good for families?
Schools beat 60% of counties, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $1,310 a month.
Is Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southeastern 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.
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southeastern 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.