Census-designated place · Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut

Niantic, Connecticut

Niantic is a census-designated place in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT metro area. It has 3,123 residents. Niantic, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 87 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,069 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #53 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on adult smoking (low), food insecurity (low) and poor or fair health (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), high ozone days (high) and rent-burdened households (high).

87Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,069 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #53 of 160 in CT
Population: 3,123 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 2,072.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0953120

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.

Safety89#1,773/15,637
Economy75#3,914/15,631
Housing8#13,722/14,977
Health79#3,246/15,609
Healthcare88#1,910/15,650
Environment68#4,998/15,453
Education86#2,257/15,649
Infrastructure91#1,452/15,650
Community66#5,251/15,651
Leisure & amenities77#3,589/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Adult smoking · low7.4%
96/100Connecticut 11.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low7.0%
96/100Connecticut 15.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · low11.0%
95/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.0%
94/100Connecticut 8.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Students per teacher · low11.1×
93/100Connecticut 11.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSoutheastern Connecticut Planning Region value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.6%
93/100Connecticut 7.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty

Weaknesses

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)Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region value
High ozone days · high6 days
13/100Connecticut 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region value
Rent-burdened households · high58.1%
19/100Connecticut 52.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
New business applications · low9.4 /1k
19/100Connecticut 13.5 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSoutheastern Connecticut Planning Region value
Days with unhealthy air · high2.0%
20/100Connecticut 3.5%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region value
Home price to income ratio · high4.9×
22/100Connecticut 3.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,935 (2015-2019) → 3,123 (2020-2024)
+6.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
25.7% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−26 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.5% (2015-2019) → 58.1% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
9.6% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.9× (2015-2019) → 4.9× (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
91.2% (2015-2019) → 96.0% (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, Niantic, Connecticut improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved1

Poverty−6 points9.6% → 3.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Niantic, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.4 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Within the margin of error	65%
Bachelor's degree or higher	47.6%2015-2019	48.2%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Broadband subscriptions	91.2%2015-2019	96.0%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Effective property tax rate	1.65%2015-2019	1.43%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
High school diploma or higher	95.8%2015-2019	99.0%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	23%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4562015-2019	0.4162020-2024	−0.040	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$75,3752015-2019	$81,2502020-2024	+7.8%	Within the margin of error	14%
Poverty rate	9.6%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−6 points	Improved	84%
Rent as share of income	27.4%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Rent-burdened households	38.5%2015-2019	58.1%2020-2024	+20 points	Within the margin of error	9%

“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 Niantic, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Niantic, 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, Niantic, Connecticut itself moved −5.2 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

3,123 residents (±510)

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

1,472 households (±251)

Niantic, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k11%†163
$25k–50k10%†149
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,472 households (±251)

Niantic, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own72%1,067
Rent28%†405

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,411 workers (±356)

Niantic, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone71%†1,002
Carpool5.7%†81
Public transit

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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, 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 Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, the county holding most of Niantic's residents.

Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region has 5,883 employer establishments, 210 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.86× Connecticut's), with 100,654 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,221. The Census Bureau also counts 19,798 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,883; 19,798 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 210; US 248 · Connecticut 245
Paid employees: 100,654
Average annual pay: $61,221; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	626	22.3	1.21×About typical	10,338	$28,399	110
Ambulatory health care services	504	18	0.86×About typical	5,869	$74,981	1,030
Specialty trade contractors	362	12.9	0.83×About typical	1,928	$69,624	1,375
Full-service restaurants	303	10.8	1.41×More than typical	6,087	$31,688	43
Limited-service restaurants	239	8.5	1.06×About typical	3,352	$23,423	48
Services to buildings and dwellings	208	7.4	1.10×About typical	1,097	$38,172	979
Building equipment contractors	180	6.4	1.07×About typical	1,120	$65,683	282
Lessors of real estate	174	6.2	0.50×Fewer than typical	536	$52,634	2,236
Offices of physicians	164	5.8	0.90×About typical	2,014	$106,825	112
Personal care services	164	5.8	1.22×About typical	748	$27,664	782
Construction of buildings	140	5	0.66×Fewer than typical	942	$81,782	596
Religious organizations	129	4.6	0.83×About typical	796	$25,531	—

Rank places for an industry Open Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 280,776 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 $22.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Niantic, Connecticut: $7.33 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $22.9K; −91% vs FY2025
Per resident: $7.33; US $1,994
Sole-source: 78%; US 30%
Single offer: 17%; 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

Top recipients

MARITIME TECHNICAL SERVICES, LLC$17.1K75%
H. L. DALIS, INC.$3,89017%
NIANTIC TOOL, INC.$1,9828.7%
COMCAST GOVERNMENT SERVICES LLC-$62.930.0%

Spending by fiscal year

21.3KFY2019
0FY2020
15.8KFY2022
124.9KFY2024
258.2KFY2025
22.9KFY2026

What was bought

Education & social services$17.1K74%

Top industries (NAICS)

Business schools and computer and management training · 6114$17.1K75%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$4,67920%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$1,1935.2%

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

Niantic, Connecticut's figures are part of those of Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT ($11.8B 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: Niantic is mostly in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region.

See federal money in Southeastern 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.

Niantic, Connecticut is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Joe CourtneyD-CT-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 4.6%

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.

Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region85100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT89

Other cities and towns in Southeastern 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/0953120

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends