The 10 Most Miserable Cities in Connecticut

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Connecticut?

According to a Harris Poll taken in October of 2015, only a third of Americans say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that Americans – especially folks in Connecticut – don’t really have it too bad, in the grand scheme of things.

But, we were curious – which Connecticut cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using science and data.

After analyzing the largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Constitution State:

1. Bridgeport (Photos)
2. Westbrook Center
3. Hartford (Photos)
4. Jewett City
5. New Haven (Photos)
6. Waterbury (Photos)
7. Rockville (Photos)
8. Stafford Springs
9. New London (Photos)
10. New Milford (Photos)

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.

Oh, and by the way, Weatogue is the happiest place in Connecticut.

Or check out the Most Miserable Cities In America.

If you’re looking for something more positive, check out the best states in America or the best places to live in America.

How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In Connecticut

In order to rank the unhappiest places in Connecticut, we had to determine what criteria makes people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress free, and have a stable home life.

So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2010-2014 report for the criteria, flipped the list, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

• Percentage of residents with a college degree
• Average commute times
• Unemployment rates
• Cost of living
• % of married couples
• % of home owners
• Poverty rate

After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 108 places in Connecticut with over 2,000 people.

We then ranked each place from one to 98 for each of the seven criteria with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).

Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index ‘earning’ the title ‘Most Miserable City In Connecticut’.

If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.

1. Bridgeport

Population: 146,680
People Who Own Their Home: 35.65%
Married Adults: 33.49%

2. Westbrook Center

Population: 2,182
People Who Own Their Home: 44.13%
Married Adults: 32.99%

3. Hartford

Population: 125,211
People Who Own Their Home: 20.11%
Married Adults: 23.64%

4. Jewett City

Population: 3,488
People Who Own Their Home: 37.02%
Married Adults: 35.99%

5. New Haven

Population: 130,553
People Who Own Their Home: 25.74%
Married Adults: 28.57%

6. Waterbury

Population: 109,887
People Who Own Their Home: 39.87%
Married Adults: 36.19%

7. Rockville

Population: 7,348
People Who Own Their Home: 24.41%
Married Adults: 33.98%

8. Stafford Springs

Population: 4,734
People Who Own Their Home: 47.34%
Married Adults: 42.52%

9. New London

Population: 27,536
People Who Own Their Home: 32.03%
Married Adults: 27.18%

10. New Milford

Population: 6,568
People Who Own Their Home: 49.17%
Married Adults: 39.17%

There You Have It

Like we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in {state} is usually a subjective matter. But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in {state}, according to science:
For more Connecticut reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Connecticut
• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Connecticut
• These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Connecticut

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Connecticut

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Bridgeport	1	35.65%
Westbrook Center	2	44.13%
Hartford	3	20.11%
Jewett City	4	37.02%
New Haven	5	25.74%
Waterbury	6	39.87%
Rockville	7	24.41%
Stafford Springs	8	47.34%
New London	9	32.03%
New Milford	10	49.17%
New Britain	11	36.1%
Willimantic	12	31.35%
Plainfield Village	13	56.82%
Thompsonville	14	32.29%
Putnam	15	46.11%
Byram	16	38.32%
Ansonia	17	51.3%
Danielson	18	40.03%
Stamford	19	50.44%
Manchester	20	51.68%
West Haven	21	50.14%
Blue Hills	22	81.1%
East Hartford	23	53.32%
Winsted	24	43.36%
Meriden	25	52.97%
Norwich	26	46.76%
Danbury	27	54.64%
Moosup	28	54.47%
Derby	29	52.62%
Norwalk	30	59.26%
Branford Center	31	40.92%
Groton	32	32.9%
Torrington	33	59.2%
Greenwich	34	43.35%
Naugatuck	35	61.67%
Storrs	36	32.21%
Clinton	37	61.42%
Bristol	38	62.12%
Middletown	39	48.71%
Bethel	40	64.46%
Terryville	41	66.64%
Stratford	42	75.38%
East Haven	43	64.66%
Wallingford Center	44	54.51%
Portland	45	65.55%
Colchester	46	51.93%
Conning Towers Nautilus Park	47	15.12%
Glenville	48	67.27%
Deep River Center	49	61.21%
Broad Brook	50	61.88%
Pawcatuck	51	51.52%
Guilford Center	52	58.45%
Madison Center	53	49.48%
Cos Cob	54	69.83%
Noank	55	67.89%
Long Hill	56	21.46%
Waterford	57	70.05%
Milford	58	72.03%
Hazardville	59	80.95%
Mystic	60	54.1%
Darien	61	80.03%
Heritage Village	62	71.25%
Westport	63	78.82%
Northwest Harwinton	64	82.38%
Windsor Locks	65	74.75%
Oxoboxo River	66	69.18%
Pemberwick	67	60.54%
Collinsville	68	64.07%
Salmon Brook	69	80.07%
Shelton	70	74.9%
Niantic	71	62.24%
Oakville	72	69.51%
Watertown	73	69.75%
East Hampton	74	80.84%
Lake Pocotopaug	75	67.46%
West Hartford	76	69.0%
Ridgefield	77	63.47%
Riverside	78	79.44%
Coventry Lake	79	85.42%
Sherwood Manor	80	90.39%
Trumbull	81	86.63%
Essex Village	82	74.41%
Wethersfield	83	75.89%
Old Greenwich	84	82.39%
Newington	85	79.75%
Southwood Acres	86	85.69%
Orange	87	83.98%
Crystal Lake	88	80.2%
Glastonbury Center	89	63.61%
North Haven	90	81.58%
Cheshire Village	91	76.75%
Kensington	92	82.84%
Old Saybrook Center	93	73.47%
Old Mystic	94	77.27%
Simsbury Center	95	81.01%
Durham	96	83.2%
West Simsbury	97	87.53%
Weatogue	98	82.2%