The 25 Best Places to Live in Connecticut 2016

By Brian McCready (Patch Staff)

Spring is often a good time to release rankings on the best places to live because this is the time of year when numerous houses go back on the market and people begin the search for where to call home.

And right on cue, AreaVibes, which uses data to determine the best places to live in a state, has just released their findings of the top 25 places to live in Connecticut.

The sites says it determines a community's livability score through its unique algorithm which includes: cost of living, crime, education, employment, housing, and weather.

According to their findings, Darien is the best place to live in Connecticut with a total livability score of 86 out of 100. Crime in Darien is 58 percent lower than the state average and the high school graduation rate is 14 percent higher than the state average.

The median home value is 376 percent higher than the average in the state and the median household income is 189 percent higher than Connecticut’s average, the website finds.

Greenwich fared well — six hamlets and neighborhoods in town made the Top 25.

AreaVibes uses an interactive map to highlight its findings and you can filter through several different tabs to see who has the lowest crime rates in Connecticut, the best high school graduation rates and numerous other categories to compare.

For example, the lowest crime in Connecticut is at Groton Long Point, followed by Ridgefield, Southport is No. 4, Madison Center, No. 6, West Simsbury, No. 8, and Guilford Center, No. 10.

The best places to live for education are: Groton Long Point, No. 2, Darien, No. 3, Old Greenwich, No. 5, Riverside, No. 6, and Westport No. 7, according to AreaVibes.

Overall, AreaVibes determined these to be the top 25 best places to live in Connecticut (livability score in parentheses):

1. Darien (86)
2. Riverside (85)
3. Westport (85)
4. Ridgefield (84)
5. Old Greenwich (84)
6. Cos Cob (84)
7. Southport (84)
8. Greenwich (83)
9. Glenville (82)
10. Mystic (82)
11. Portland (82)
12. Guilford Center (82)
13. Shelton (82)
14. Pemberwick (81)
15. Essex Village (81)
16. Old Saybrook Center (81)
17. West Hartford (81)
18. Bethel (80)
19. North Haven (80)
20. Madison Center (80)
21. Newtown (80)
22. Glastonbury Center (80)
23. Milford (80)
24. Trumbull (80)
25. Wethersfield (80)

To go in-depth and view why each community earned its ranking and to view the interactive map by AreaVibes simply click here.

Do you agree with the findings? Let us know in the comment section below.