Census-designated place · Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut

Southport, Connecticut

Southport is a census-designated place in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area. It has 1,568 residents. Southport, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 84 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,578 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #69 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on poor or fair health (low), adult smoking (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and high ozone days (high).

84Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,578 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #69 of 160 in CT
Population: 1,568 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,808.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 0971040

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.

Safety85#2,381/15,637
Economy73#4,226/15,631
Housing0#14,956/14,977
Health98#281/15,609
Healthcare88#1,899/15,650
Environment29#10,960/15,453
Education99#228/15,649
Infrastructure92#1,326/15,650
Community75#3,938/15,651
Leisure & amenities60#6,278/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Poor or fair health · low8.4%
100/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · low5.5%
100/100Connecticut 11.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · high84.3%
100/100Connecticut 42.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
High school diploma or higher · high100.0%
100/100Connecticut 91.5%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
99/100Connecticut 8 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauGreater Bridgeport Planning Region value
Frequent mental distress · low12.7%
99/100Connecticut 17.2%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Connecticut 31.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.595
3/100Connecticut 0.499United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
High ozone days · high15 days
4/100Connecticut 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Greater Bridgeport Planning Region value
Child care cost burden · high41.4%
5/100Connecticut 39.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Greater Bridgeport Planning Region value
Days with unhealthy air · high5.8%
7/100Connecticut 3.5%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Greater Bridgeport Planning Region value
Rent-burdened households · high83.1%
12/100Connecticut 52.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,661 (2015-2019) → 1,568 (2020-2024)
−5.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
25.3% (2015-2019) → 83.1% (2020-2024)
+58 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
16.8% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.7× (2015-2019) → 6.9× (2020-2024)
+83%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Public transit commutersWorsening
21.2% (2015-2019) → 11.1% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
74.9% (2015-2019) → 84.3% (2020-2024)
+9.4 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, Southport, Connecticut improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 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

Rent / income+34 points16.8% → 51.0%

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Southport, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	39.3 min2015-2019	28.1 min2020-2024	−11.2 min	Within the margin of error	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	74.9%2015-2019	84.3%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Broadband subscriptions	93.8%2015-2019	93.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Effective property tax rate	1.10%2015-2019	1.37%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	98.5%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	6.9×2020-2024	+3.1×	Within the margin of error	1%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5702015-2019	0.5952020-2024	+0.026	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$187,9172015-2019	$159,6882020-2024	−15%	Within the margin of error	2%
Rent as share of income	16.8%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+34 points	Declined	0%

“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 Southport, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Southport, 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, Southport, Connecticut itself moved −15.3 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,568 residents (±265)

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

736 households (±149)

Southport, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k7.7%†57
$25k–50k15%†109
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

736 households (±149)

Southport, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own82%606
Rent18%†130

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

714 workers (±218)

Southport, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone47%†337
Carpool0.6%†4
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 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, 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 Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, the county holding most of Southport's residents.

Greater Bridgeport Planning Region has 6,941 employer establishments, 209 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Connecticut's), with 107,114 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,734. The Census Bureau also counts 32,778 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,941; 32,778 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 209; US 248 · Connecticut 245
Paid employees: 107,114
Average annual pay: $61,734; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	749	22.6	1.08×About typical	9,408	$72,969	1,916
Restaurants and other eating places	607	18.3	1.00×About typical	8,268	$26,695	223
Specialty trade contractors	435	13.1	0.85×About typical	3,123	$75,614	2,388
Offices of physicians	315	9.5	1.46×More than typical	3,489	$100,777	252
Full-service restaurants	251	7.6	0.98×About typical	3,965	$30,774	98
Limited-service restaurants	249	7.5	0.93×About typical	3,250	$23,041	95
Services to buildings and dwellings	245	7.4	1.09×About typical	3,645	$34,681	1,686
Lessors of real estate	230	6.9	0.56×Fewer than typical	820	$69,639	3,388
Legal services	209	6.3	1.17×About typical	1,078	$127,642	321
Building equipment contractors	204	6.1	1.02×About typical	1,416	$82,732	379
Personal care services	181	5.5	1.14×About typical	990	$28,792	1,142
Schools, colleges and instruction	157	4.7	1.35×More than typical	9,083	$36,673	1,164

Rank places for an industry Open Greater Bridgeport Planning Region

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 332,081 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 -$26.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Southport, Connecticut: -$16.93 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: -$26.5K
Per resident: -$16.93; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

VANGUARD INSPECTION SERVICES-$26.5K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

209.9KFY2024
-79.3KFY2025
-26.5KFY2026

What was bought

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

Southport, Connecticut's figures are part of those of Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT ($3B 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: Southport is mostly in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.

See federal money in Greater Bridgeport 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.

Southport, 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.

Greater Bridgeport Planning Region72100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT88

Other cities and towns in Greater Bridgeport 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/0971040

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends