Census-designated place · Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut

Watertown, Connecticut

Watertown is a census-designated place in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, part of the Waterbury-Shelton, CT metro area. It has 3,897 residents. Watertown, Connecticut has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,907 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Connecticut it ranks #107 of 160 cities and towns. It ranks best on broadband subscriptions (high), firearm deaths (low) and adult obesity (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), rent as share of income (high) and high ozone days (high).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,907 of 15,651 cities and towns
Connecticut: #107 of 160 in CT
Population: 3,897 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,650.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0980420

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.

Safety74#4,066/15,637
Economy62#6,003/15,631
Housing11#13,295/14,977
Health81#3,021/15,609
Healthcare76#3,752/15,650
Environment26#11,392/15,453
Education65#5,506/15,649
Infrastructure97#472/15,650
Community62#6,019/15,651
Leisure & amenities51#7,664/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Watertown, 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

Broadband subscriptions · high98.1%
94/100Connecticut 92.2%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
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
Adult obesity · low27.0%
89/100Connecticut 30.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · low12.8%
88/100Connecticut 15.9%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Suicide rate · low9.7 /100k
85/100Connecticut 10.1 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionEstimated from related areas or data (see the source notes)Provisional dataNaugatuck Valley Planning Region value
Food insecurity · low9.5%
84/100Connecticut 15.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-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
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Connecticut 31.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
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
Effective property tax rate · high1.76%
13/100Connecticut 1.54%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Social associations · low6.3 /10k
14/100Connecticut 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNaugatuck Valley Planning Region value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,350 (2015-2019) → 3,897 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.2% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.6% (2015-2019) → 23.7% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.8% (2015-2019) → 61.4% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.6% (2015-2019) → 98.1% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$64,886 (2015-2019) → $103,200 (2020-2024)
+59%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, Watertown, Connecticut improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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

Household income+59%$64,886 → $103,200
Broadband+14 points83.6% → 98.1%

Declined1

Rent / income+25 points26.2% → 51.0%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Watertown, Connecticut between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.6 min2015-2019	21.2 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	44.4%2015-2019	45.3%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	83.6%2015-2019	98.1%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	78%
Effective property tax rate	2.04%2015-2019	1.76%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
High school diploma or higher	96.1%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	94%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.4242020-2024	+0.027	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$64,8862015-2019	$103,2002020-2024	+59%	Improved	90%
Poverty rate	5.6%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent as share of income	26.2%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+25 points	Declined	1%
Rent-burdened households	40.8%2015-2019	61.4%2020-2024	+21 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.0%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	87%

“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 Watertown, Connecticut five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Watertown, 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, Watertown, Connecticut itself moved −8.8 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

3,897 residents (±897)

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

1,500 households (±338)

Watertown, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Under $25k13%†201
$25k–50k9.3%†140
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,500 households (±338)

Watertown, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Own80%1,202
Rent20%†298

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

2,094 workers (±593)

Watertown, Connecticut
Connecticut share

Drive alone74%†1,548
Carpool7.7%†161
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 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 Watertown'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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

Watertown, 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.

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
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/0980420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends