Report: Middletown is Tops in Culture, Community Engagement

Middletown is ranked among the state's top municipalities for culture and art offerings and community involvement, according to Connecticut Magazine's Rating the Towns November issue.

This year, results were compiled not by population but by the average home cost, which the magazine says is a more accurate representation of why people choose to live where they do.

Middletown came in 36 out of 44 municipalities in the $175,000 to $224,999 median home sale price category with an average house valued at $185,000. It ranked second in its class for local state parks and forests; the number of colleges and universities; number of restaurants, stores, theaters, museums and concert venues and number one in voter turnout in the 2012 election and the amount of local news coverage from newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations. 

See the full breakdown in Middletown's median home sale price category in the attached PDF.

The Forest City, however, didn't score as well as other towns in its category on crime, education and the economy. Middletown was in group of cities with the highest rate of major crimes committed in 2012 per 1,000 population, near the bottom in education test results and graduation rates and among the lowest five cities in the strength of its economy.

On these three fronts, Middletown scored ahead of Windsor, Brooklyn, Seymour, Groton, Mansfield, Hamden and Stratford in the Connecticut Magazine rankings.

What do you think of Middletown's rankings and what are the top reasons why you've chosen to live in this city? Tell us in the comments below.