Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bethany grades A overall, ranked 13th of 151 in Connecticut. The median household earns $166K. It is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns and its schools outperform 86% of the state's. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $562K, 6.4 years of the New Haven metro’s $88K median household income. Bethany’s trail density is 2.7 miles per square mile, above both Connecticut’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 7 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score higher on hazard risk. Wheeler-Beecher House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Bethany beats most towns.
Wheeler-Beecher House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bethany Community School | PK–6 | 430 |
| Amity Middle School: Bethany | 7–8 | 373 |
| Willow Tree Montessori | PK | 20 |
Census counts: 914 in 1850, a low of 411 in 1920, 5,297 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Bethany is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bethany. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
16 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
29 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
25 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
9 mi MuseumYale University Art Gallery
9 mi MuseumYale Center for British ArtYale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Yale University Art Gallery: Ragesoss, Public domain · Yale Center for British Art: Sage Ross, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bethany, 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 Bethany.
Bethany has less food insecurity than most of Connecticut and pairs an A for schools with high home prices, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Connecticut.
57 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Naugatuck State Forest, 457 acres with 5.1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Naugatuck State Forest | 5.1 mi | 457 |
| 2. Town of Bethany Property | 2.6 mi | 160 |
| 3. Hein Trails | 1.3 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $562K.
Its public schools are run by the Bethany School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany Community SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 430 | A− |
| Amity Middle School: BethanyTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 373 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 6.6% of its 4,255 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide. Against the 1,830 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bethany’s, it is healthier than 72%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
13% of Bethany adults report frequent mental distress, below both the Connecticut town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (17%). 11% of Bethany adults say their health is fair or poor. Bethany beats the Connecticut average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Bethany | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bethany | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.6% | 14.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.8% | 10% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 1,064 in 2013 to 1,384.
Most working residents leave Bethany for work: only 7% work in town. The average trip to work in Bethany is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Bethany grew to 1,384 in 2023, 320 more than in 2013.
| Bethany | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $166,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.3% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 6.4 years of the New Haven metro’s $88K median household income, the typical home (about $562K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of Connecticut towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
97% of households own their home in Bethany. The typical Bethany home is worth about $562,000, about the same as a year ago, 26% above the Connecticut typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bethany.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bethany has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Bethany’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
7 within 15 miles of the center of Bethany
About 7 of every 100 Bethany residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
10.8% of the town is conserved land, across 21 parks and preserves.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Bethany is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 5,297 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Bethany.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany | #13 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Woodbridge | #18 | A | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
| Hamden | #133 | C− | D | D | C− | A− |
| Prospect | #70 | B+ | C− | — | B | A |
| Beacon Falls | #101 | B− | D | — | B | A |
| Naugatuck | #111 | C+ | D | B | C | A− |
| Seymour | #81 | B | D | A | C+ | A− |
| Cheshire | #6 | A+ | C− | A | A | A+ |
Bethany, Prospect and Beacon Falls report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bethany with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bethany grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #13 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including E. Frank Sperry and Treat Baldwin Johnson.
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