Like all states, Connecticut has certain places that are going on hard times. These Connecticut places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Connecticut.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 21 cities in Connecticut with more than 9,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Connecticut For 2026:
What’s the poorest city in Connecticut? According to the facts, Hartford is the poorest place in Connecticut for 2026.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Connecticut reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Connecticut
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The 10 Poorest Cities In Connecticut For 2026
1. Hartford
/10
Population: 121,127
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $46,411 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.3% (highest)
People In Poverty: 31,832
More on Hartford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Hartford, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Connecticut thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 121,127 people averages the lowest median household income in Connecticut and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Waterbury
/10
Population: 114,869
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $51,886 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.7% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 28,338
More on Waterbury: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The second poorest city in Connecticut is Waterbury.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 2nd highest in the Constitution State.
3. New Haven
/10
Population: 134,349
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $56,851 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.9% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 32,149
More on New Haven: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Placing as the third poorest city, New Haven’s median income ranks as the 3rd lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 23.93% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Constitution State.
4. Bridgeport
/10
Population: 149,153
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,685 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.0% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 31,337
More on Bridgeport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Bridgeport ranks as the fourth poorest place in Connecticut.
The town ranks as having the 5th lowest median household income and the 5th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. New London
/10
Population: 27,625
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $59,098 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.6% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 5,955
More on New London: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The fifth poorest city in Connecticut is New London.
The city ranks as having the 6th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 4th highest in Connecticut.
Still not the best news for New London.
6. New Britain
/10
Population: 74,223
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,613 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.1% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 13,419
More on New Britain: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
New Britain ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Constitution State.
It ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty and the 8th highest unemployment rate.
7. Norwich
/10
Population: 39,973
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $65,024 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.7% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 6,683
More on Norwich: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Norwich places as the seventh poorest city in Connecticut.
The city of over 39,973 ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Torrington
/10
Population: 35,547
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $70,856 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.7% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,884
More on Torrington: Movers
Torrington ranks as the eighth poorest city in Connecticut.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. West Haven
/10
Population: 55,351
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 2)
Median Income: $74,382 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.1% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 7,815
More on West Haven: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
West Haven couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Connecticut; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 10th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, West Haven ranks as having the 9th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Connecticut.
10. Meriden
/10
Population: 60,545
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $71,253 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.2% (11th highest)
People In Poverty: 7,991
More on Meriden: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Connecticut is Meriden.
The city of 60,545 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Constitution State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Connecticut for 2026
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 21 places with more than 9,000 people in Connecticut, we ranked each place from 1 to 21 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Hartford, crowned the “Poorest Place In Connecticut For 2026”.
This report has been updated for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the poorest places in Connecticut.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Connecticut For 2026
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Connecticut, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Connecticut.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Connecticut, according to data:
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Richest: Milford
2nd Richest: Shelton
3rd Richest: Naugatuck
For more Connecticut reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Connecticut
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Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Connecticut
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartford | 121,127 | 26.3% | $46,411 | 31,832 |
| 2 | Waterbury | 114,869 | 24.7% | $51,886 | 28,338 |
| 3 | New Haven | 134,349 | 23.9% | $56,851 | 32,149 |
| 4 | Bridgeport | 149,153 | 21.0% | $58,685 | 31,337 |
| 5 | New London | 27,625 | 21.6% | $59,098 | 5,955 |
| 6 | New Britain | 74,223 | 18.1% | $58,613 | 13,419 |
| 7 | Norwich | 39,973 | 16.7% | $65,024 | 6,683 |
| 8 | Torrington | 35,547 | 13.7% | $70,856 | 4,884 |
| 9 | West Haven | 55,351 | 14.1% | $74,382 | 7,815 |
| 10 | Meriden | 60,545 | 13.2% | $71,253 | 7,991 |
| 11 | Groton | 9,490 | 18.6% | $79,577 | 1,768 |
| 12 | Middletown | 47,958 | 12.0% | $79,438 | 5,769 |
| 13 | Bristol | 61,462 | 10.7% | $79,076 | 6,601 |
| 14 | Derby | 12,487 | 10.8% | $79,500 | 1,343 |
| 15 | Danbury | 87,263 | 11.7% | $83,393 | 10,227 |
| 16 | Ansonia | 19,033 | 9.4% | $85,877 | 1,791 |
| 17 | Norwalk | 92,187 | 9.1% | $107,616 | 8,398 |
| 18 | Stamford | 137,144 | 10.1% | $111,586 | 13,906 |
| 19 | Naugatuck | 31,800 | 6.3% | $96,324 | 2,012 |
| 20 | Shelton | 41,889 | 6.6% | $108,185 | 2,752 |
| 21 | Milford | 51,023 | 5.2% | $111,201 | 2,632 |