Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ashford grades C+ overall, ranked 113th of 151 in Connecticut, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is healthier than 82% of U.S. towns and it has 55 miles of trail and 32% conserved land. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $122K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $398K, 4.4 years of the Putnam area’s $91K median household income. 32% of the land in Ashford is conserved, against 14% in Connecticut’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On walkability, just 5 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse. Yale-Myers Forest, at 1,826 acres with 12.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Ashford beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,661 in 1830, a low of 668 in 1910, 4,191 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1808 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Ashford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ashford, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Ashford.
Ashford keeps more of its land conserved than most of Connecticut and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Connecticut; it also has commutes longer than most of Connecticut.
Its 7,930 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 94% of Connecticut towns.
55 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. Ashford’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 1.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yale-Myers Forest | 12.6 mi | 1,826 |
| 2. Natchaug State Forest | 5 mi | 1,467 |
| 3. June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation | 4.5 mi | 954 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Ashford School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 351 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 67% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is no health insurance: 6.2% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10% statewide.
Ashford beats the Connecticut average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of Ashford adults feel lonely.
| Ashford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 9.4% | 12% |
| What stands out | Ashford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.5% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 1,660 working residents takes 34.4 minutes, against 26.5 across Connecticut.
Most working residents leave Ashford for work: only 9% work in town. Ashford’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. The top destinations are Mansfield (11%), Windham (6%) and Willington (4%).
| Ashford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $122,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 19% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ashford has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Ashford is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Ashford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,246 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Connecticut average. 35% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ashford.
| Ashford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.9 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 45% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Ashford | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.1% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.4% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.1% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.7% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.6% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 42.4% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.4% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.3% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Ashford since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ashford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
25 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
25 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
28 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
28 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun Arena
33 mi LakeQuabbin ReservoirLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Mohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ashford
About 4 of every 100 Ashford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
Where Ashford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Ashford on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Ashford.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Ashford is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 4,191 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1714. Eastford was a part of Ashford until 1847, when the former split off to organize its own town. For this reason, North Ashford is located in northeast Eastford. Ashford is home to the largest Boy Scout camp in Connecticut, the June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation; to Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children with cancer and other serious illnesses; to the Salvation Army CONNRI Lodge and Conference Center; and to the Evangelical Christian Center, a retreat, camp and conference cent…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Ashford.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford | #113 | C+ | C | — | B− | A− |
| Eastford | — | — | B− | — | B+ | A− |
| Willington | #112 | C+ | C | — | B− | A− |
| Chaplin | — | — | C | — | C+ | B |
| Union | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Eastford and Chaplin have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ashford, Eastford, Willington and Chaplin report no FBI crime data of their own. Union isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ashford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ashford grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #113 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A− for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
13 notable people were born here, including Nathaniel Lyon and Galusha A. Grow.
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