City · Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut

Middletown, Connecticut

Middletown is a city in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area. It has 47,958 residents. Middletown, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 86 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,142 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #54 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), voter turnout (high) and flu vaccinations (high). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), high ozone days (high) and child care cost burden (high).

86Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,142 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #54 of 160 in CT
Population: 47,958 (2020-2024)
Land area: 41 mi²
Density: 1,169.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0947290

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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
Economy45#8,674/15,631
Housing37#9,445/14,977
Health82#2,840/15,609
Healthcare87#2,105/15,650
Environment37#9,703/15,453
Education92#1,212/15,649
Infrastructure69#4,926/15,650
Community94#928/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,138/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Middletown, 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

Students per teacher · low10.6×
96/100Connecticut 11.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Voter turnout · high78.6%
94/100Connecticut 68.5%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Flu vaccinations · high54.8%
92/100Connecticut 52.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.6 /10k
91/100Connecticut 6.2 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Public EV charging ports · high14.8 /10k
91/100Connecticut 13.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value
Restaurants and bars · high12.9 /10k
90/100Connecticut 10.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.09%
6/100Connecticut 1.54%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
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
Distance to an emergency room · high8.6 mi
22/100Connecticut 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.4% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$65,572 (2015-2019) → $79,438 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
16.3% (2015-2019) → 12.2% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.1% (2015-2019) → 47.7% (2020-2024)
−3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.5 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−15%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
38.0% (2015-2019) → 40.2% (2020-2024)
+2.2 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, Middletown, Connecticut improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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.

Improved2

Broadband+9.8 points80.4% → 90.3%
Household income+21%$65,572 → $79,438

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Middletown, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.6 min2015-2019	23.3 min2020-2024	+1.6 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.0%2015-2019	40.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	80.4%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Improved	59%
Child poverty rate	16.3%2015-2019	12.2%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Effective property tax rate	2.34%2015-2019	2.09%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	92.8%2015-2019	93.8%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4722015-2019	0.4522020-2024	−0.019	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$65,5722015-2019	$79,4382020-2024	+21%	Improved	35%
Poverty rate	12.0%2015-2019	12.0%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Public transit commuters	1.8%2015-2019	1.4%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Rent as share of income	30.4%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent-burdened households	51.1%2015-2019	47.7%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.3%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“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 Middletown, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Middletown, 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, Middletown, Connecticut itself moved +2.6 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

47,958 residents (±39)

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

20,390 households (±584)

Middletown, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k16%3,166
$25k–50k13%2,692
$50k–75k19%3,810

Homes

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

Owners and renters

20,390 households (±584)

Middletown, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own53%10,785
Rent47%9,605

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

25,713 workers (±892)

Middletown, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone69%17,659
Carpool7.0%1,788
Public transit1.4%†357

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 Middletown'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 $68.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Middletown, Connecticut: $1,422 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $68.2M; −39% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,422; US $1,994
Sole-source: 69%; US 30%
Single offer: 12%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$51.6M76%
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission$5.9M8.6%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$4.5M6.7%
Departmental Offices$2.5M3.7%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$1.9M2.8%
GAO, Except Comptroller General$1.7M2.5%
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences$756.8K1.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs$430.5K0.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

77.6KFY2017
84.9KFY2019
1.2MFY2020
1.3MFY2021
2MFY2022
4.9MFY2023
14.9MFY2024
111.7MFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$51.4M75%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$18.1M27%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$571.6K0.8%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$135.1K0.2%
Other textile product mills · 3149$67K0.1%
Waste collection · 5621$48.2K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Middletown, Connecticut

NASA SEWP V GWAC ORDER FOR SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES: IT HARDWARE AND WARRANTY SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SINGLE FUNCTION DEVICE AND MULTI-FUNCTION DEVICE PRINTERS, BARCODE PRINTERS, DOCUMENT SCANNERS, MONITORS, PERIPHERALS, AND ANCILLARY COMMODITIES.$95.8M
REGAN TECHNOLOGIES CORP· Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT· IT & telecom· Feb 12, 2021 – Dec 17, 2025· 36C10B21F0062
8511934320!BLADE,TURBINE ROTOR$21.2M
RTX CORPORATION· Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Feb 25, 2026 – Feb 25, 2026· SPE4AX26F7601
THE SCOPE OF THIS EFFORT IS TO PROVIDE CONTINUED LICENSING AND SUPPORT ON BMC SOFTWARE PRODUCTS TO SUPPORT ONGOING NCIC OPERATIONS.$19.5M
REGAN TECHNOLOGIES CORP· Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT

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 Middletown, Connecticut, so they do not add up across cities.

Middletown, Connecticut's figures are part of those of Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT ($84.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 81% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Middletown 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.

Middletown, 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/0947290

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends