Metro area · Connecticut
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT is a metropolitan area of 2 counties in Connecticut, home to 978,179 residents. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area has a quality-of-life score of 88 out of 100 (very high), ranking #116 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Connecticut it ranks #4 of 7. It ranks best on average weekly wage (high), firearm deaths (low) and public transit commuters (high). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), high ozone days (high) and average commute time (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #116 of 925 metro and micro areas
- Connecticut
- #4 of 7 in CT
- Population
- 978,179 (2025)
- Land area
- 672 mi²
- Density
- 1,454.9 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 14860
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety98#22/924
- Economy87#121/925
- Housing1#914/925
- Health100#5/925
- Healthcare93#66/923
- Environment33#613/917
- Education84#147/925
- Infrastructure86#133/925
- Community72#261/925
- Leisure & amenities97#33/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Average weekly wage · high$2,291
- Firearm deaths · low2.9 /100k100/100Connecticut 4.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Public transit commuters · high6.6%
- Gyms and fitness centers · high2.6 /10k99/100Connecticut 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Suicide rate · low6.8 /100k99/100Connecticut 10.1 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Traffic deaths · low5.6 /100k99/100Connecticut 8.8 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationAggregated from counties
Weaknesses
- Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.545
- High ozone days · high15 days1/100Connecticut 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
- Average commute time · high31.0 min
- Days with unhealthy air · high5.8%
- Child care cost burden · high41.3%5/100Connecticut 39.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Severe housing problems · high20.8%6/100Connecticut 17.4%United States 16.8%2017-2021University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Child care cost burdenWorsening
22.4% (2020 & 2021) → 41.3% (2023 & 2024)
+19 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
- Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 15% (Nov 2025–Oct 2026)
+15 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
32.8% (Dec 2021) → 47.0% (Aug 2026)
+14 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
- Homicide rateImproving
3.9 /100k (2021) → 1.8 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−55%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
25.7 /100k (2021) → 13.1 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−49%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- Firearm deathsImproving
5.3 /100k (2021) → 2.9 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−45%5 yearsUS 14.7 /100k → 12.1 /100k
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.
Metro and micro areas like Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
- Bridgeport149,153
- Stamford137,144
- Norwalk92,187
- Danbury87,263
- Greenwich14,792
- Bethel11,404
- Trumbull Center10,264
- Sandy Hook9,863
- Riverside8,954
- Long Hill8,681
- New Milford8,188
- Cos Cob7,546
- Staples7,340
- Ridgefield6,970
- Old Greenwich6,936
- New Canaan6,896
- Daniels Farm5,976
- Noroton5,539
- Byram4,633
- Oronoque4,116
- East Village3,998
- Stepney3,979
- Tashua3,771
- Lordship3,669
Other metro and micro areas in Connecticut
Areas based in Connecticut, best score first.
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT90Alike on Some college, Dentists, Child care cost
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ68Alike on Firearm deaths, Life expectancy, Suicides
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH89Alike on Density, Household income, Price level
- New Haven, CT78Alike on Exercise access, Price level, Density
- Waterbury-Shelton, CT75Alike on Flu vaccination, Exercise access, July high
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-10-06
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08