More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Hartford to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Hartford are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Hartford ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Hartford area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Hartford proper, although Westfield certainly tries.
We examined the 10 biggest suburbs of Hartford to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Connecticut lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Hartford in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 5 worst suburbs around Hartford for 2023
- Waterbury
- Springfield
- New Britain
- Meriden
- Torrington
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Hartford? Waterbury ranks as the worst suburb of Hartford for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Connecticut check out the best places in Connecticut overall or the worst.
And remember, there are some good places to live around Hartford too.
The 5 Worst Hartford Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 113,783
Median Income: $48,787 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.0% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $140,700 (lowest)
More on Waterbury: Data
We’ll get the ball rolling with Waterbury, the absolute worst place to live around Hartford according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Waterbury beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Hartford area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Waterbury.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
2. Springfield
/10
Population: 155,770
Median Income: $43,308 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.6% (highest)
Median Home Value: $168,700 (4th lowest)
More on Springfield:
Welcome to Springfield. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 25.2 miles to Hartford. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $43,308 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
/10
Population: 74,022
Median Income: $50,379 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.4% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $166,100 (3rd lowest)
More on New Britain: Data
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Hartford suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see New Britain on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Hartford suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 60,790
Median Income: $59,792 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $175,700 (5th lowest)
More on Meriden: Data
If you live in Meriden, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Hartford suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Hartford. Remember, we looked at 10 cities for this study.
Meriden is about 16.9 miles to downtown.
5. Torrington
/10
Population: 35,447
Median Income: $63,135 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $158,000 (2nd lowest)
More on Torrington:
Torrington has the distinction of being a Hartford suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Torrington has the 2nd lowest home values in the metro Hartford area, where the median price is $158,000. The median income is $86,900.
Torrington has an unemployment rate of 6.7% which ranks 5th worst.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Hartford for 2023
To figure out how bad a Hartford suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
It’s Saturday Night Science.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Hartford.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 31,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 10 suburbs to evaluate around Hartford.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 10 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Hartford.” We’re looking at you, Waterbury.
We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Hartford.
Summary: The areas around Hartford where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Hartford with Waterbury casting itself ahead of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Hartford aren’t all bad. Westfield takes the cake as the best place to live around Hartford.
- Westfield
- Middletown
- Bristol
For more Connecticut reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Connecticut
- Cheapest Places To Live In Connecticut
- Most Dangerous Cities In Connecticut
- Best Places To Retire In Connecticut
- Richest Cities In Connecticut
- Safest Places In Connecticut
- Worst Places To Live In Connecticut
Detailed List Of The Worst Hartford Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterbury | 113,783 | $48,787 | $140,700 |
| 2 | Springfield | 155,770 | $43,308 | $168,700 |
| 3 | New Britain | 74,022 | $50,379 | $166,100 |
| 4 | Meriden | 60,790 | $59,792 | $175,700 |
| 5 | Torrington | 35,447 | $63,135 | $158,000 |
| 6 | Chicopee | 55,636 | $56,509 | $198,000 |
| 7 | Naugatuck | 31,586 | $86,900 | $197,800 |
| 8 | Bristol | 60,733 | $73,604 | $207,400 |
| 9 | Middletown | 47,164 | $67,485 | $240,700 |
| 10 | Westfield | 40,922 | $73,692 | $256,300 |
