Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Berlin grades B+ overall, ranked 72nd of 151 in Connecticut. The median household earns $114K. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 88% of the country. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $454K, 4.8 years of the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income. Berlin’s trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile, above both Connecticut’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). On the outdoors, just 4 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do better. Berlin has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Worthington Ridge Historic District and Kensington Soldier's Monument.
Where Berlin beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,465 in 1790, a low of 1,869 in 1850, 20,175 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Berlin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berlin. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
12 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
22 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
36 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
14 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
31 mi Theme parkSix Flags New EnglandLake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berlin, 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 Berlin.
Berlin is one of Connecticut’s best towns for the outdoors, is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Connecticut.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #5 of 155 in Connecticut.
74 miles of trail in 37 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is City of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land, 1,015 acres with 8.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ragged Mountain Memorial Preserve | 9.8 mi | 612 |
| 2. Blue Hills Conservation Area | 9.7 mi | 433 |
| 3. City of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land | 8.6 mi | 1,015 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Berlin School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Berlin High School, with 836 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine M. McGee Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 595 | B− |
| Berlin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 836 | B |
| Richard D. Hubbard SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 215 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 54% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is no health insurance: 5.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10% statewide.
84% of Berlin adults had a checkup this year, above both the Connecticut town median (81%) and the median of U.S. towns (79%). 29% of adults have obesity in Berlin. Berlin beats the Connecticut average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Berlin | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 9.7% | 14% |
| What stands out | Berlin | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Berlin has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Berlin for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Berlin is 21 minutes. Jobs based in Berlin fell to 11,195 in 2023, 755 fewer than in 2013.
| Berlin | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.4% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $114,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (19% statewide). Berlin’s median age is 48.7 years. Berlin has grown 2.6% since 2020, to 20,698 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Berlin | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.7 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 19% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.3 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Berlin | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.6% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.6% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.4% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.7% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.6% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.1% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.6% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.4% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.5% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 50 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berlin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical home values rose 5.2% in the year to September 2026.
| Berlin | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,402 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 19.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 69% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 526 to 219 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
13 within 15 miles of the center of Berlin
About 7 of every 100 Berlin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
25.6% of the town is conserved land, across 37 parks and preserves.
5 places in Berlin on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Berlin.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Berlin ( BUR-lin) is a town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,175 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and is served by the Amtrak station of the same name. Berlin also has two hamlets: Kensington and East Berlin. It has major manufacturers such as Plastic Molding Manufacturing, PYC manufacturing, and Budney Industries. Berlin has 1 high school 1 middle school and 3 elementary schools.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Berlin.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | #72 | B+ | C− | B− | B | A |
| Cromwell | #79 | B | C− | C+ | B | A |
| Southington | #65 | B+ | C | B− | B+ | A |
| Meriden | #140 | D | D | C+ | C− | C+ |
| New Britain | #149 | D− | D− | C− | D− | C− |
| Kensington | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Middletown | #115 | C+ | D | B | C | A− |
| Newington | #95 | B− | C | C+ | B− | A− |
Kensington isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Berlin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Berlin grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #72 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
11 notable people were born here, including Emma Willard and Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps.
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