Census-designated place · South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut

Guilford Center, Connecticut

Guilford Center is a census-designated place in South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the New Haven, CT metro area. It has 2,263 residents. Guilford Center, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 61 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,066 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #127 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), poor or fair health (low) and distance to an airport (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and high ozone days (high).

61High

Quality-of-life score: #6,066 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #127 of 160 in CT
Population: 2,263 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,037.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0935020

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety58#6,629/15,637
Economy64#5,598/15,631
Housing8#13,846/14,977
Health82#2,871/15,609
Healthcare67#5,132/15,650
Environment26#11,358/15,453
Education70#4,668/15,649
Infrastructure51#7,627/15,650
Community60#6,334/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,797/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Guilford Center, Connecticut ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “South Central Connecticut 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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low3 mi
99/100Connecticut 8 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region value
Poor or fair health · low10.3%
97/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Distance to an airport · low8 mi
96/100Connecticut 18 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region value
Public EV charging ports · high18.5 /10k
94/100Connecticut 13.5 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySouth Central Connecticut Planning Region value
Food insecurity · low7.5%
94/100Connecticut 15.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Mental health providers · high606 /100k
93/100Connecticut 514 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high48.2%
1/100Connecticut 39.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)South Central Connecticut Planning Region value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.601
2/100Connecticut 0.499United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
High ozone days · high12 days
5/100Connecticut 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)South Central Connecticut Planning Region value
Home price to income ratio · high7.1×
10/100Connecticut 3.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Drug overdose deaths · high29.0 /100k
11/100Connecticut 20.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Provisional dataSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.6%
11/100Connecticut 3.5%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)South Central Connecticut Planning Region value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,689 (2015-2019) → 2,263 (2020-2024)
−16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.5× (2015-2019) → 7.1× (2020-2024)
+59%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
4.3% (2015-2019) → 11.4% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
59.6% (2015-2019) → 52.7% (2020-2024)
−6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.9% (2015-2019) → 52.2% (2020-2024)
−5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
88.9% (2015-2019) → 84.2% (2020-2024)
−4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Guilford Center, Connecticut improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Declined1

Price / income+2.6×4.5× → 7.1×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Guilford Center, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.7 min2015-2019	25.3 min2020-2024	+2.6 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	59.6%2015-2019	52.7%2020-2024	−6.9 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Broadband subscriptions	88.9%2015-2019	84.2%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Effective property tax rate	1.72%2015-2019	1.43%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
High school diploma or higher	94.5%2015-2019	98.7%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Home price to income ratio	4.5×2015-2019	7.1×2020-2024	+2.6×	Declined	2%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5382015-2019	0.6012020-2024	+0.063	Within the margin of error	12%
Median household income	$89,4442015-2019	$82,2732020-2024	−8%	Within the margin of error	4%
Poverty rate	5.5%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Rent as share of income	32.1%2015-2019	30.7%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Rent-burdened households	57.9%2015-2019	52.2%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	73%

“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 Guilford Center, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Guilford Center, 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, Guilford Center, Connecticut itself moved −5.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

2,263 residents (±270)

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: 70–79 women (−4.1 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

2,263 residents (±270)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

White90%2,027
Black1.7%†38
Hispanic or Latino3.9%†88

Education

1,785 residents (±206)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

No high school diploma1.3%†23
High school or GED22%†385
Some college14%†

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

1,220 households (±152)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k17%†209
$25k–50k16%†192
$50k–75k11%†140
$75k–100k13%†163
$100k–150k14%†166
$150k–200k9.3%†113
$200k or more19%†237

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (+8.8 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 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

1,220 households (±152)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own58%705
Rent42%†515

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

492 households (±163)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $75024%†120
$750–1,0009.1%†45
$1,000–1,5009.4%†

Home values

705 homes (±146)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $150k2.1%†15
$150k–250k4.0%†28
$250k–400k13%†

Age of homes

1,345 homes (±154)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

2010 or later9.5%†128
2000–20091.7%†23
1980–199917%†235

Size of homes

1,345 homes (±154)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Studio8.6%†115
1 bedroom21%†278
2 bedrooms29%†385

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

1,153 workers (±226)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone69%798
Carpool6.6%†76
Public transit0.0%0
Walk7.1%†82
Bike2.8%†32
Work from home14%†165
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (+5.1 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

988 workers (±226)

Guilford Center, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under 15 min36%†351
15–29 min37%†370
30–44 min18%†

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 New Haven, 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 South Central Connecticut Planning Region, the county holding most of Guilford Center's residents.

South Central Connecticut Planning Region has 13,779 employer establishments, 241 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Connecticut's), with 263,675 paid employees at an average annual pay of $65,048. The Census Bureau also counts 50,322 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 13,779; 50,322 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 241; US 248 · Connecticut 245
Paid employees: 263,675
Average annual pay: $65,048; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	1,361	23.8	1.14×About typical	30,227	$76,033	3,166
Restaurants and other eating places	1,259	22	1.20×About typical	17,914	$24,754	295
Specialty trade contractors	863	15.1	0.97×About typical	6,773	$79,697	2,858
Full-service restaurants	566	9.9	1.29×More than typical	9,297	$28,014	104
Limited-service restaurants	494	8.6	1.08×About typical	6,097	$21,544	135
Offices of physicians	456	8	1.23×About typical	16,193	$89,698	687
Lessors of real estate	421	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	2,376	$52,178	5,746
Building equipment contractors	400	7	1.16×About typical	3,395	$83,267	622
Personal care services	400	7	1.46×More than typical	2,031	$27,972	1,826
Services to buildings and dwellings	376	6.6	0.97×About typical	4,935	$34,910	2,019
Legal services	368	6.4	1.20×About typical	2,199	$104,506	607
Offices of other health practitioners	331	5.8	0.95×About typical	1,881	$45,644	1,654

Rank places for an industry Open South Central Connecticut Planning Region

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 572,366 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 $15.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Guilford Center, Connecticut: $6.80 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $15.4K; −95% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6.80; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 87%; US 8.8%

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

Top buying agencies

National Institutes of Health$11.2K73%
Defense Logistics Agency$4,53529%
U.S. Coast Guard$2,23815%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$1,2828.3%
Health Resources and Services Administration$8685.6%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$4613.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

718.5FY2017
190.2FY2018
43.7KFY2019
-7.1KFY2020
750.1FY2021
181.9KFY2022
227.7KFY2023
81.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$11.2K73%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$4,58130%
Hardware, and plumbing and heating equipment merchant wholesalers · 4237$1,95813%
Investigation and security services · 5616$1,2828.3%
Offices of physicians · 6211$8685.6%
Support activities for forestry · 1153

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Guilford Center, Connecticut, so they do not add up across cities.

Guilford Center, Connecticut's figures are part of those of South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT ($198.7M 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: Guilford Center is mostly in South Central Connecticut Planning Region.

See federal money in South Central Connecticut 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.

Guilford Center, 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.

South Central Connecticut Planning Region74100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New Haven, CT78

Other cities and towns in South Central Connecticut 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/0935020

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends