Census-designated place · Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut

Essex Village, Connecticut

Essex Village is a census-designated place in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area. It has 2,705 residents. Essex Village, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 93 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,022 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #14 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on poor or fair health (low), food insecurity (low) and lack of reliable transportation (low). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), home price to income ratio (high) and high ozone days (high).

93Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,022 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #14 of 160 in CT
Population: 2,705 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 704.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0926370

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety92#1,193/15,637
Economy78#3,419/15,631
Housing23#11,532/14,977
Health93#1,075/15,609
Healthcare88#1,880/15,650
Environment37#9,701/15,453
Education96#667/15,649
Infrastructure92#1,282/15,650
Community97#453/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,138/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Essex Village, Connecticut ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Poor or fair health · low8.8%
100/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low5.7%
99/100Connecticut 15.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · low4.4%
98/100Connecticut 8.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · low7.0%
97/100Connecticut 11.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Students per teacher · low10.6×
96/100Connecticut 11.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Physical inactivity · low14.6%
96/100Connecticut 23.5%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.513
6/100Connecticut 0.499United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Home price to income ratio · high7.3×
11/100Connecticut 3.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High ozone days · high8 days
11/100Connecticut 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Child care cost burden · high38.2%
13/100Connecticut 39.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Days with unhealthy air · high2.8%
14/100Connecticut 3.5%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Natural hazard risk · high76.7
22/100Connecticut 69.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
2,480 (2015-2019) → 2,705 (2020-2024)
+9.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.4% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
−33 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
32.9% (2015-2019) → 23.0% (2020-2024)
−9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
9.3% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
26.1 min (2015-2019) → 38.1 min (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
58.9% (2015-2019) → 66.7% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Essex Village, Connecticut improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Essex Village, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.1 min2015-2019	38.1 min2020-2024	+11.9 min	Within the margin of error	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	58.9%2015-2019	66.7%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Broadband subscriptions	97.1%2015-2019	95.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Effective property tax rate	1.46%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	85%
High school diploma or higher	93.9%2015-2019	98.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Home price to income ratio	5.3×2015-2019	7.3×2020-2024	+2.0×	Within the margin of error	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4952015-2019	0.5132020-2024	+0.018	Within the margin of error	35%
Median household income	$83,7502015-2019	$102,8852020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	39%
Rent as share of income	32.9%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	−9.9 points	Within the margin of error	93%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Essex Village, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Essex Village, Connecticut in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Essex Village, Connecticut itself moved +3.7 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,705 residents (±402)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 women (−4.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,705 residents (±402)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

White92%2,491
Black1.2%†32
Hispanic or Latino3.4%†92

Education

2,165 residents (±277)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

No high school diploma1.2%†27
High school or GED8.3%†180
Some college16%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,242 households (±158)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k6.9%†86
$25k–50k13%†159
$50k–75k17%†206
$75k–100k14%†168
$100k–150k13%†161
$150k–200k9.7%†121
$200k or more27%†341

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,242 households (±158)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own92%1,146
Rent7.7%†96

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+26.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

96 households (±73)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50034%†33

Home values

1,146 homes (±160)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $150k1.7%†19
$150k–250k0.9%†10
$250k–400k9.9%†

Age of homes

1,356 homes (±179)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

2010 or later6.1%†83
2000–20092.9%†40
1980–199914%†185

Size of homes

1,356 homes (±179)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom3.3%†45
2 bedrooms33%†444

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,319 workers (±275)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone59%783
Carpool3.0%†39
Public transit0.9%†12
Walk8.7%†115
Bike0.0%0
Work from home24%†319
Other3.9%†51

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+13.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,000 workers (±279)

Essex Village, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under 15 min43%†428
15–29 min14%†142
30–44 min20%†201

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, the county holding most of Essex Village's residents.

Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has 4,489 employer establishments, 254 for every 10,000 residents (1.02× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Connecticut's), with 65,436 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,279. The Census Bureau also counts 15,958 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,489; 15,958 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 254; US 248 · Connecticut 245
Paid employees: 65,436
Average annual pay: $63,279; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	394	22.3	1.22×About typical	5,015	$27,025	64
Specialty trade contractors	339	19.2	1.24×About typical	2,584	$83,832	1,236
Ambulatory health care services	336	19	0.91×About typical	4,828	$84,114	945
Full-service restaurants	203	11.5	1.50×More than typical	2,979	$29,580	21
Services to buildings and dwellings	181	10.3	1.52×More than typical	1,543	$41,338	672
Building equipment contractors	137	7.8	1.29×More than typical	986	$79,769	253
Landscaping services	137	7.8	2.22×More than typical	555	$59,953	329
Limited-service restaurants	133	7.5	0.94×About typical	1,357	$24,837	31
Construction of buildings	123	7	0.92×About typical	600	$77,150	435
Lessors of real estate	113	6.4	0.52×Fewer than typical	351	$57,162	1,998
Personal care services	106	6	1.26×More than typical	459	$29,207	460
Offices of physicians	101	5.7	0.88×About typical	1,546	$122,300	138

Rank places for an industry Open Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 176,419 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $29.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Essex Village, Connecticut: $11.03 per resident (US $2,008).

Obligations: $29.8K; −76% vs FY2025
Per resident: $11.03; US $2,008
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 97%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$28.8K97%
Department of the Army$1,0193.4%

Top recipients

NALAS ENGINEERING SERVICES, LLC$29.8K100%

Spending by fiscal year

13.5KFY2018
0FY2019
9.6KFY2020
2.9KFY2022
0FY2023
9.3KFY2024
123.4KFY2025
29.8KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$29.8K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 10, 2026, loaded Oct 10, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Essex Village, Connecticut, so they do not add up across cities.

Essex Village, Connecticut's figures are part of those of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT ($84.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Essex Village is mostly in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region.

See federal money in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Essex Village, Connecticut is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region93100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT90

Other cities and towns in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0926370

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends