Borough · Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut

Litchfield, Connecticut

Litchfield is a borough in Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Torrington, CT metro area. It has 1,251 residents. Litchfield, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 84 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,533 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #66 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and bachelor's degree or higher (high). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), child care cost burden (high) and days with unhealthy air (high).

84Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,533 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #66 of 160 in CT
Population: 1,251 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 911.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 0943300

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.

Safety80#3,099/15,637
Economy55#6,963/15,631
Housing18#12,305/14,977
Health89#1,693/15,609
Healthcare82#2,868/15,650
Environment43#8,877/15,453
Education86#2,131/15,649
Infrastructure84#2,441/15,650
Community83#2,632/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,315/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Litchfield, Connecticut ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Northwest Hills 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

Students per teacher · low10.5×
97/100Connecticut 11.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsNorthwest Hills Planning Region value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high9.4 /10k
94/100Connecticut 6.2 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorthwest Hills Planning Region value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high64.9%
94/100Connecticut 42.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Poor or fair health · low11.5%
94/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.5%
93/100Connecticut 7.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Adult obesity · low25.4%
93/100Connecticut 30.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

High ozone days · high7 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)Northwest Hills Planning Region value
Child care cost burden · high38.4%
12/100Connecticut 39.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Northwest Hills Planning Region value
Days with unhealthy air · high2.4%
17/100Connecticut 3.5%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Northwest Hills Planning Region value
Natural hazard risk · high81.4
17/100Connecticut 69.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyNorthwest Hills Planning Region value
Rent as share of income · high29.3%
22/100Connecticut 31.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Job growth · low-1.1%
25/100Connecticut -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataNorthwest Hills Planning Region value

Trends

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

Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
39.7% (2015-2019) → 65.0% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 96.0% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
16.8% (2015-2019) → 4.3% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
13.6% (2015-2019) → 6.1% (2020-2024)
−7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.1% (2015-2019) → 47.7% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$83,750 (2015-2019) → $109,773 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Litchfield, Connecticut improved on 3 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++25 points39.7% → 65.0%
Inequality−0.1220.552 → 0.430
Broadband+17 points79.4% → 96.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Litchfield, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.8 min2015-2019	28.7 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.7%2015-2019	65.0%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	100%
Broadband subscriptions	79.4%2015-2019	96.0%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	1.50%2015-2019	1.33%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%
High school diploma or higher	94.0%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Home price to income ratio	4.2×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	−0.5×	Within the margin of error	93%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5522015-2019	0.4302020-2024	−0.122	Improved	98%
Median household income	$83,7502015-2019	$109,7732020-2024	+31%	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent as share of income	26.6%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	41.1%2015-2019	47.7%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Within the margin of error	33%

“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 Litchfield, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Litchfield, 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, Litchfield, Connecticut itself moved +9.6 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

1,251 residents (±294)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

530 households (±100)

Litchfield, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k11%†57
$25k–50k15%†80
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

530 households (±100)

Litchfield, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own67%355
Rent33%175

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

573 workers (±138)

Litchfield, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone60%345
Carpool13%†75
Public transit2.8%†16

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 Torrington, 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 Northwest Hills Planning Region, the county holding most of Litchfield's residents.

Northwest Hills Planning Region has 2,909 employer establishments, 256 for every 10,000 residents (1.03× the US rate of 248; 1.05× Connecticut's), with 31,833 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,625. The Census Bureau also counts 11,608 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,909; 11,608 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 256; US 248 · Connecticut 245
Paid employees: 31,833
Average annual pay: $56,625; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	323	28.5	1.84×More than typical	1,822	$83,568	1,097
Ambulatory health care services	220	19.4	0.93×About typical	2,066	$88,870	604
Restaurants and other eating places	219	19.3	1.05×About typical	2,747	$23,873	50
Services to buildings and dwellings	196	17.3	2.56×More than typical	514	$53,949	775
Landscaping services	163	14.4	4.10×More than typical	369	$62,458	407
Building equipment contractors	144	12.7	2.11×More than typical	707	$66,870	191
Full-service restaurants	123	10.8	1.41×More than typical	1,370	$28,637	13
Construction of buildings	105	9.3	1.22×About typical	578	$84,320	421
Offices of physicians	86	7.6	1.17×About typical	906	$117,390	92
Lessors of real estate	84	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	179	$66,983	1,298
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	76	6.7	2.03×More than typical	358	$68,182	92
Limited-service restaurants	70	6.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	870	$19,057	22

Rank places for an industry Open Northwest Hills Planning Region

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 113,508 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 $997 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Litchfield, Connecticut: $0.80 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $997; −85% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.80; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Transportation Security Administration$997100%

Top recipients

KATALYST KENNELS LLC$997100%
BEARICUDA, INC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

6.7KFY2025
997.1FY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$997100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Other animal production · 1129$997100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Litchfield, Connecticut, so they do not add up across cities.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Litchfield is mostly in Northwest Hills Planning Region.

See federal money in Northwest Hills 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.

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

House

Senate

County

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

Northwest Hills Planning Region90100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Torrington, CT95

Other cities and towns in Northwest Hills 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/0943300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends