Best PlacesWest Side Hartford, Manchester, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Side Hartford, Manchester, 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.
West Side Hartford, Manchester ranks 3,570th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Side Hartford, Manchester
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.
West Side Hartford, Manchester's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Side Hartford, Manchester ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where West Side Hartford, Manchester ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,463 a month, better than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Side Hartford, Manchester
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Side Hartford, Manchester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,242, 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 West Side Hartford, Manchester's effective rate of 1.99%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Side Hartford, Manchester
West Side Hartford, Manchester runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Side Hartford, Manchester.
Who works in West Side Hartford, Manchester, and how
Work in West Side Hartford, Manchester centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in West Side Hartford, Manchester
West Side Hartford, Manchester has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 44 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of West Side Hartford, Manchester and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Side Hartford, Manchester, month by month
West Side Hartford, Manchester 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 West Side Hartford, Manchester
Bradley International sits about 14 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 West Side Hartford, Manchester
Schools across West Side Hartford, Manchester average a C−, better than 29% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Waddell SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Keeney SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Verplanck SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elisabeth M. Bennet AcademyD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Manchester High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Side Hartford, Manchester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Side Hartford, Manchester 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 West Side Hartford, Manchester against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West Side Hartford, Manchester
Is West Side Hartford, Manchester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Side Hartford, Manchester ranks 3,570th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on civic engagement, cell coverage, and fast internet, and lowest on a weak job market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Side Hartford, Manchester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,272. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $62,242 median income, cost of living beats 33% of neighborhoods.
Is West Side Hartford, Manchester safe?
Yes, West Side Hartford, Manchester is safer than 69% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
Compare West Side Hartford, Manchester with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Side Hartford, Manchester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Side Hartford, Manchester 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.
West Side Hartford, Manchester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Side Hartford, Manchester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Side Hartford, Manchester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Side Hartford, Manchester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Side Hartford, Manchester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Side Hartford, Manchester 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.