City · Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut

Shelton, Connecticut

Shelton is a city in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area. It has 41,889 residents. Shelton, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 67 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,206 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #115 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on adult obesity (low), firearm deaths (low) and poor or fair health (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), high ozone days (high) and days with unhealthy air (high).

67High

Quality-of-life score: #5,206 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #115 of 160 in CT
Population: 41,889 (2020-2024)
Land area: 31 mi²
Density: 1,367.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0968100

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety74#4,066/15,637
Economy68#4,925/15,631
Housing21#11,766/14,977
Health84#2,431/15,609
Healthcare80#3,148/15,650
Environment26#11,392/15,453
Education71#4,479/15,649
Infrastructure70#4,747/15,650
Community48#8,188/15,651
Leisure & amenities51#7,664/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Adult obesity · low24.5%
94/100Connecticut 30.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Firearm deaths · low4.4 /100k
90/100Connecticut 4.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Model-based estimateProvisional dataNaugatuck Valley Planning Region value
Poor or fair health · low12.4%
90/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · low7.0%
88/100Connecticut 13.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult smoking · low9.3%
88/100Connecticut 11.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · low15.5%
85/100Connecticut 17.2%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high45.4%
2/100Connecticut 39.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Naugatuck Valley Planning Region value
High ozone days · high11 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)Naugatuck Valley Planning Region value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.5%
11/100Connecticut 3.5%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Naugatuck Valley Planning Region value
Average commute time · high30.3 min
12/100Connecticut 26.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · low6.3 /10k
14/100Connecticut 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNaugatuck Valley Planning Region value
Drug overdose deaths · high25.1 /100k
17/100Connecticut 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 dataNaugatuck Valley Planning Region value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
2.2 /1k (2021) → 3.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+53%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.8% (2015-2019) → 93.0% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
47.7% (2015-2019) → 53.8% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
3.3% (2015-2019) → 7.0% (2020-2024)
+3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
29.1% (2015-2019) → 32.5% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.6× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Shelton, Connecticut improved on 1 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 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

Broadband+7.1 points85.8% → 93.0%

Declined3

Child poverty+3.7 points3.3% → 7.0%
Price / income+0.6×3.6× → 4.2×
Transit use−1.7 points2.5% → 0.8%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Shelton, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.5 min2015-2019	30.3 min2020-2024	+1.8 min	Within the margin of error	29%
Bachelor's degree or higher	42.7%2015-2019	41.7%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	85.8%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Improved	44%
Child poverty rate	3.3%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Declined	24%
Effective property tax rate	1.47%2015-2019	1.18%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	73%
High school diploma or higher	93.6%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4482015-2019	0.4282020-2024	−0.020	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$97,1312015-2019	$108,1852020-2024	+11%	Within the margin of error	18%
Poverty rate	5.1%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Public transit commuters	2.5%2015-2019	0.8%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Declined	15%
Rent as share of income	29.1%2015-2019	32.5%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	47.7%2015-2019	53.8%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Unemployment rate	5.5%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.7%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	41%

“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 Shelton, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shelton, 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, Shelton, Connecticut itself moved −5 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

41,889 residents (±86)

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

16,096 households (±528)

Shelton, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k9.2%1,477
$25k–50k13%2,013
$50k–75k11%1,816

Homes

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

Owners and renters

16,096 households (±528)

Shelton, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own76%12,312
Rent24%3,784

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−4.1 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

21,106 workers (±712)

Shelton, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone75%15,924
Carpool8.6%1,825
Public transit0.8%†178

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 Waterbury-Shelton, 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 Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, the county holding most of Shelton's residents.

Naugatuck Valley Planning Region has 9,114 employer establishments, 199 for every 10,000 residents (0.80× the US rate of 248; 0.81× Connecticut's), with 145,193 paid employees at an average annual pay of $66,365. The Census Bureau also counts 38,037 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 9,114; 38,037 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 199; US 248 · Connecticut 245
Paid employees: 145,193
Average annual pay: $66,365; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	859	18.8	0.90×About typical	11,459	$72,272	2,048
Restaurants and other eating places	783	17.1	0.93×About typical	10,388	$23,886	213
Specialty trade contractors	778	17	1.10×About typical	5,955	$78,606	3,374
Building equipment contractors	370	8.1	1.34×More than typical	3,113	$79,530	623
Full-service restaurants	345	7.5	0.98×About typical	4,660	$26,450	90
Limited-service restaurants	332	7.3	0.91×About typical	4,428	$21,733	93
Services to buildings and dwellings	293	6.4	0.95×About typical	1,934	$43,470	1,852
Offices of physicians	268	5.9	0.90×About typical	3,018	$123,671	247
Offices of other health practitioners	259	5.7	0.93×About typical	2,038	$45,187	1,007
Lessors of real estate	245	5.4	0.43×Fewer than typical	1,013	$66,526	4,223
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	242	5.3	3.31×More than typical	5,968	$64,662	68
Personal care services	237	5.2	1.09×About typical	1,147	$26,255	1,625

Rank places for an industry Open Naugatuck Valley Planning Region

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 457,384 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 $20.4M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Shelton, Connecticut: $488 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $20.4M; +49% vs FY2025
Per resident: $488; US $1,994
Sole-source: 37%; US 30%
Single offer: 24%; 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

Social Security Administration$7.9M39%
U.S. Coast Guard$4.1M20%
Office of the Chief Financial Officer$2.7M13%
Department of Veterans Affairs$1.4M7.0%
Offices, Boards and Divisions$1.4M6.8%
Federal Acquisition Service$1.2M6.0%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources$706.6K3.5%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$495.9K2.4%

Top recipients

PITNEY BOWES INC.$12.9M63%
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION$4.1M20%
PITNEY BOWES GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC$1.4M6.9%
BAGELA USA, LLC$1.2M6.0%
PERKINELMER U.S. LLC$567K2.8%

Spending by fiscal year

6.1MFY2017
1.8MFY2018
1.9MFY2019
4.2MFY2020
1.7MFY2021
2.9MFY2022
431.4KFY2023
3.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Business support services · 5614$10.6M52%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$4.2M20%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing · 5324$3.9M19%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$1.2M6.0%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$706.6K3.5%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Shelton, Connecticut

WORKLIFE SERVICES$19.1M
LIFECARE, INC· Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT· Health & medical· Feb 29, 2020 – Sep 21, 2026· 75P00120F80049
THE PURPOSE OF THIS TASK ORDER IS TO PROVIDE THE FOH DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED WORKLIFE PROGRAM TO FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS LOCATED WORLDWIDE.$9.4M
LIFECARE, INC· Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT· Health & medical· Mar 1, 2017 – Mar 26, 2026· HHSP233201700078G
OVERHAUL OF GEARBOXES AS WELL AS VARIOUS GEARBOX COMPONENTS TO BE USED ON USCG MH60T HELICOPTERS.$7.8M
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION· Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Sep 16, 2025 – Apr 30, 2026· 70Z03825FJ0000209

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

Shelton, Connecticut's figures are part of those of Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT ($50M in FY2026), never added to them: 41% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Shelton is mostly in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region.

See federal money in Naugatuck 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.

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

House

County

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

Naugatuck Valley Planning Region67100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Waterbury-Shelton, CT75

Other cities and towns in Naugatuck 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/0968100

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends