The 10 Worst Small Towns In Connecticut For 2025

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 2025:

1. Canaan
2. Poquonock Bridge
3. Plainfield Village
4. North Grosvenor Dale
5. South Windham
6. Danielson
7. Jewett City
8. Blue Hills
9. Stafford Springs
10. Baltic

So what is the worst small town to call home in Connecticut for 2025? 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 2025

1. Canaan

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,297
Median Home Value: $170,700
Median Income: $31,986
Unemployment Rate: 12.0%

2. Poquonock Bridge

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,108
Median Home Value: $190,700
Median Income: $42,907
Unemployment Rate: 20.1%

3. Plainfield Village

Source: Public Domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,260
Median Home Value: $227,500
Median Income: $50,703
Unemployment Rate: 9.6%

4. North Grosvenor Dale

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,097
Median Home Value: $203,500
Median Income: $80,925
Unemployment Rate: 14.9%

5. South Windham

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,391
Median Home Value: $217,700
Median Income: $72,917
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%

6. Danielson

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,185
Median Home Value: $219,800
Median Income: $71,672
Unemployment Rate: 14.1%

7. Jewett City

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,412
Median Home Value: $196,600
Median Income: $55,590
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%

8. Blue Hills

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,989
Median Home Value: $199,800
Median Income: $62,672
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%

9. Stafford Springs

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,801
Median Home Value: $200,900
Median Income: $70,967
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

10. Baltic

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,266
Median Home Value: $202,000
Median Income: $89,907
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%

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 2019-2023 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 2025, 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, Poquonock Bridge, Plainfield Village, North Grosvenor Dale, South Windham, Danielson, Jewett City, Blue Hills, Stafford Springs, and Baltic.

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

1. Noank (Pop. 1,617)
2. Madison Center (Pop. 1,818)
3. Weatogue (Pop. 2,851)

For more Connecticut reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Connecticut

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Canaan	1,297	12.0%	$170,700	$31,986
2	Poquonock Bridge	1,108	20.1%	$190,700	$42,907
3	Plainfield Village	2,260	9.6%	$227,500	$50,703
4	North Grosvenor Dale	1,097	14.9%	$203,500	$80,925
5	South Windham	1,391	3.2%	$217,700	$72,917
6	Danielson	4,185	14.1%	$219,800	$71,672
7	Jewett City	3,412	6.9%	$196,600	$55,590
8	Blue Hills	1,989	5.0%	$199,800	$62,672
9	Stafford Springs	4,801	6.1%	$200,900	$70,967
10	Baltic	1,266	4.8%	$202,000	$89,907
11	New Preston	1,121	7.3%	$447,300	$60,526
12	Oxoboxo River	2,912	1.9%	$231,100	$78,415
13	Chester Center	1,876	5.1%	$397,400	$73,542
14	Quinebaug	1,163	12.6%	$241,400	$81,458
15	East Brooklyn	2,008	6.6%	$268,000	$62,125
16	Northwest Harwinton	3,126	4.7%	$323,600	$97,977
17	Gales Ferry	1,027	5.1%	$282,800	$1,000
18	Watertown	4,215	6.0%	$278,500	$98,003
19	Deep River Center	2,636	1.6%	$317,700	$74,000
20	Clinton	3,547	8.0%	$344,200	$83,333
21	Coventry Lake	2,358	1.2%	$263,200	$73,846
22	Westbrook Center	2,529	2.3%	$459,500	$71,132
23	Suffield Depot	1,947	15.4%	$377,500	$1,000
24	Waterford	3,496	7.8%	$245,600	$75,968
25	Tariffville	1,607	14.3%	$270,300	$103,125
26	Woodbury Center	1,491	11.1%	$410,300	$130,180
27	Durham	3,508	4.5%	$378,900	$126,406
28	Colchester	4,624	3.4%	$280,500	$79,685
29	Broad Brook	3,550	3.6%	$328,300	$96,484
30	Moodus	1,815	0.0%	$259,000	$88,482
31	Heritage Village	4,517	4.0%	$221,600	$53,266
32	South Woodstock	1,294	6.4%	$248,500	$88,182
33	Bethlehem Village	2,275	2.1%	$360,300	$107,838
34	Brooklyn	1,045	0.0%	$227,700	$88,750
35	Wauregan	1,209	2.4%	$240,400	$90,625
36	Old Mystic	3,189	4.5%	$324,600	$119,444
37	Thomaston	2,073	4.0%	$236,900	$81,667
38	Moosup	3,218	0.0%	$269,000	$75,469
39	Salmon Brook	2,229	1.8%	$312,400	$77,500
40	New Hartford Center	1,691	3.7%	$216,700	$78,487
41	Litchfield	1,274	4.6%	$378,900	$107,024
42	Lake Pocotopaug	4,715	3.4%	$304,700	$108,430
43	Somers	2,081	0.8%	$379,100	$67,203
44	East Hampton	3,159	2.9%	$315,900	$120,875
45	Collinsville	4,001	2.5%	$376,800	$104,808
46	Higganum	1,549	0.0%	$361,600	$134,750
47	South Coventry	1,509	2.4%	$324,300	$103,466
48	Georgetown	1,751	9.5%	$677,300	$163,158
49	Guilford Center	2,272	1.5%	$586,500	$80,000
50	Crystal Lake	1,963	0.0%	$345,300	$142,642
51	Saybrook Manor	1,404	4.3%	$528,100	$120,208
52	Ne	1,968	3.4%	$465,400	$161,000
53	West Simsbury	2,878	1.0%	$468,400	$191,042
54	Canton Valley	1,364	1.1%	$354,900	$88,028
55	Niantic	3,302	1.4%	$370,200	$82,604
56	Wilton Center	1,730	2.2%	$493,400	$116,081
57	Pemberwick	3,455	3.8%	$892,600	$134,375
58	Mystic	4,441	4.5%	$493,200	$146,042
59	Glenville	2,663	8.4%	$1,091,700	$211,786
60	Essex Village	2,722	0.6%	$744,100	$110,469
61	Southport	1,529	4.5%	$905,600	$156,750
62	Old Saybrook Center	2,063	0.0%	$400,600	$85,466
63	Woodmont	1,591	2.6%	$452,200	$89,375
64	North Granby	1,510	0.0%	$389,200	$114,167
65	Noank	1,617	0.1%	$571,900	$114,479
66	Madison Center	1,818	2.7%	$816,800	$190,769
67	Weatogue	2,851	0.6%	$414,100	$174,286