Best PlacesWestern Connecticut Planning Region, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Western 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.
Western Connecticut Planning Region ranks 89th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $149,056, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, an overheated housing market, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Western 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.
Western Connecticut Planning Region's strengths and weaknesses
Western 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. High incomes and big-city access follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and state finances also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Western Connecticut Planning Region ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$149,056 median, better than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of counties
Where Western Connecticut Planning Region ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,837 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of counties
- Short commute30.8 minutes each way, better than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Western Connecticut Planning Region
A household needs to earn about $222,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Western Connecticut Planning Region home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $149,056, 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region's effective rate of 1.33%, 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region
Western 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region.
Who works in Western Connecticut Planning Region, and how
Work in Western Connecticut Planning Region centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Western Connecticut Planning Region
The coast is about 17 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Western Connecticut Planning Region, which the map shows.
Is Western Connecticut Planning Region growing, and who is moving in?
Western Connecticut Planning Region has grown about 3% over the last decade.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Western 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region, month by month
Western Connecticut Planning Region sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Western Connecticut Planning Region
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 37 miles away.
The best schools in and around Western Connecticut Planning Region
Schools across Western Connecticut Planning Region average a B, better than 81% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Riverside SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- West SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
Top middle schools
- Saxe Middle SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Middlesex Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Bedford Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top high schools
- Rye High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Pawling High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Dover High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Western Connecticut Planning Region school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Western 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Western Connecticut Planning Region suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Western Connecticut Planning Region
Is Western Connecticut Planning Region a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Western Connecticut Planning Region ranks 89th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, high incomes, and big-city access, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Western Connecticut Planning Region expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $791,168. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $149,056 median income, cost of living beats 98% of counties.
Is Western Connecticut Planning Region safe?
Western Connecticut Planning Region is safer than 52% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Western Connecticut Planning Region?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 24. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of counties.
Is Western Connecticut Planning Region good for families?
Schools beat 81% of counties, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $1,837 a month.
Is Western Connecticut Planning Region good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 99% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare Western Connecticut Planning Region with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Western Connecticut Planning Region. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Western 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.
Western Connecticut Planning Region detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Western Connecticut Planning Region: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Western Connecticut Planning Region: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Western Connecticut Planning Region: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Western Connecticut Planning Region: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Western 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.