The 10 Worst Small Towns In Connecticut For 2024

Most Americans have never been to small town Connecticut. However, as the Connecticuter who live there know, small town Connecticut is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Connecticut has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Constitution State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 67 of Connecticut’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Connecticut where you’d never want to live:

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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These are the worst small towns in Connecticut for 2024:

1. Canaan
2. Oxoboxo River
3. Poquonock Bridge
4. Plainfield Village
5. North Grosvenor Dale
6. Danielson
7. South Windham
8. Jewett City
9. East Brooklyn
10. Blue Hills

So what is the worst small town to call home in Connecticut for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Canaan is the worst small town to live in Connecticut.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Canaan home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Connecticut or the worst places to live in Connecticut.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Connecticut For 2024

1. Canaan

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,353
Median Home Value: $325,764
Median Income: $31,130
Unemployment Rate: 12.7%

2. Oxoboxo River

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,429
Median Home Value: $253,240
Median Income: $69,740
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%

3. Poquonock Bridge

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,390
Median Home Value: $214,570
Median Income: $61,994
Unemployment Rate: 15.8%

4. Plainfield Village

Source: Public Domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,681
Median Home Value: $258,074
Median Income: $62,638
Unemployment Rate: 10.2%

5. North Grosvenor Dale

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,281
Median Home Value: $219,050
Median Income: $85,982
Unemployment Rate: 11.3%

6. Danielson

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,162
Median Home Value: $269,981
Median Income: $69,007
Unemployment Rate: 16.9%

7. South Windham

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,412
Median Home Value: $244,567
Median Income: $69,327
Unemployment Rate: 1.2%

8. Jewett City

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,415
Median Home Value: $206,907
Median Income: $52,283
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%

9. East Brooklyn

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,051
Median Home Value: $318,908
Median Income: $63,938
Unemployment Rate: 9.9%

10. Blue Hills

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,224
Median Home Value: $216,692
Median Income: $63,844
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%

Next 10 Towns

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Connecticut is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Connecticut, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (The lower, the worse)
• Highest Unemployment Rates
• Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
• Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
• Education (Number of high school dropouts)
• High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 67 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Connecticut.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Connecticut

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Constitution State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The worst small towns in Connecticut are Canaan, Oxoboxo River, Poquonock Bridge, Plainfield Village, North Grosvenor Dale, Danielson, South Windham, Jewett City, East Brooklyn, and Blue Hills.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Connecticut, according to science:

1. Weatogue (Pop. 2,671)
2. Wilton Center (Pop. 1,642)
3. Noank (Pop. 1,708)

For more Connecticut reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Connecticut

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Canaan	1,353	12.7%	$325,764	$31,130
2	Oxoboxo River	2,429	6.9%	$253,240	$69,740
3	Poquonock Bridge	1,390	15.8%	$214,570	$61,994
4	Plainfield Village	2,681	10.2%	$258,074	$62,638
5	North Grosvenor Dale	1,281	11.3%	$219,050	$85,982
6	Danielson	4,162	16.9%	$269,981	$69,007
7	South Windham	1,412	1.2%	$244,567	$69,327
8	Jewett City	3,415	8.1%	$206,907	$52,283
9	East Brooklyn	2,051	9.9%	$318,908	$63,938
10	Blue Hills	2,224	3.5%	$216,692	$63,844
11	Baltic	1,150	4.7%	$232,019	$91,250
12	Stafford Springs	4,890	6.6%	$294,009	$68,929
13	Terryville	4,998	5.5%	$251,236	$69,444
14	Watertown	3,765	4.1%	$336,719	$67,252
15	Moosup	3,175	6.8%	$262,318	$64,466
16	Tariffville	1,803	14.7%	$302,874	$83,607
17	Broad Brook	4,006	4.1%	$344,495	$93,243
18	Deep River Center	2,700	3.1%	$350,151	$75,296
19	Chester Center	1,729	3.3%	$457,200	$73,611
20	Woodbury Center	1,445	11.5%	$491,744	$89,563
21	Coventry Lake	2,230	3.7%	$282,832	$86,394
22	Westbrook Center	2,317	3.6%	$546,330	$69,544
23	Old Mystic	3,385	5.6%	$356,635	$112,734
24	Wauregan	1,396	2.2%	$261,021	$81,964
25	Heritage Village	4,411	3.4%	$213,745	$46,663
26	Northwest Harwinton	3,202	4.5%	$388,585	$93,521
27	New Preston	1,026	1.4%	$602,412	$85,357
28	Moodus	1,666	3.0%	$334,471	$96,032
29	Durham	3,469	6.0%	$438,821	$127,361
30	Suffield Depot	1,886	14.8%	$445,882	$83,926
31	New Hartford Center	1,364	5.1%	$210,562	$71,456
32	South Woodstock	1,418	7.2%	$309,123	$75,763
33	Gales Ferry	1,113	1.0%	$319,498	$91,083
34	Waterford	3,276	8.2%	$361,777	$74,701
35	Colchester	4,868	8.0%	$378,824	$74,035
36	Thomaston	2,087	4.9%	$298,143	$71,301
37	Lake Pocotopaug	4,761	5.3%	$357,578	$105,750
38	Clinton	3,113	3.7%	$399,517	$80,083
39	South Coventry	1,468	2.7%	$370,075	$100,145
40	East Hampton	2,944	4.5%	$363,374	$122,426
41	Salmon Brook	2,184	2.4%	$337,772	$77,500
42	Saybrook Manor	1,231	4.2%	$525,226	$110,526
43	Bethlehem Village	2,103	0.8%	$371,961	$115,455
44	Litchfield	1,355	4.9%	$471,964	$121,346
45	Georgetown	1,656	8.4%	$743,334	$159,242
46	Canton Valley	1,484	0.3%	$365,359	$70,389
47	West Simsbury	2,796	4.5%	$539,610	$175,045
48	Niantic	3,497	2.7%	$436,222	$82,398
49	Somers	2,231	0.0%	$419,442	$79,952
50	Mansfield Center	1,281	3.4%	$306,883	$115,655
51	North Granby	1,556	0.0%	$427,255	$114,519
52	Old Saybrook Center	2,017	0.0%	$466,986	$79,712
53	Higganum	1,693	0.0%	$426,675	$130,411
54	Ne	1,959	3.4%	$532,182	$144,375
55	Southport	1,515	5.3%	$1,043,497	$156,406
56	Collinsville	3,750	2.2%	$433,150	$101,336
57	Essex Village	2,725	0.0%	$869,129	$98,611
58	Pemberwick	3,212	5.4%	$966,393	$122,546
59	Crystal Lake	2,080	0.0%	$422,775	$156,595
60	Guilford Center	2,541	0.6%	$649,371	$88,850
61	Mystic	4,417	3.7%	$542,439	$126,854
62	Glenville	3,112	7.4%	$1,163,162	$197,619
63	Madison Center	1,536	2.7%	$756,538	$130,625
64	Woodmont	1,619	2.8%	$510,447	$97,171
65	Weatogue	2,671	0.7%	$433,503	$154,716
66	Wilton Center	1,642	2.4%	$578,869	$130,543
67	Noank	1,708	0.9%	$559,298	$156,842