Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3.5 times the library visits per person than the typical Connecticut town.
Trash & recyclingBridgewater’s best subject grades are an A+ for health and incomes and an A for schools. Bridgewater’s median household income is $159,000, where Connecticut’s towns sit at $109,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Only 14 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score higher on incomes. Bridgewater's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns. 16% of the land in Bridgewater is conserved, near the Connecticut town median (14%) and above the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Bridgewater has 2 places on the National Register. Bridgewater has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bridgewater beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Bridgewater | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.5% | 14.9% |
Frederick S. Sanford HouseWhere Bridgewater’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Bridgewater is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bridgewater. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
5 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
32 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
25 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
24 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
39 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank ArenaUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: Crunch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bridgewater, 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 Bridgewater.
28% of Bridgewater adults sleep under 7 hours. Bridgewater beats the Connecticut average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 7.2% of Bridgewater adults smoke cigarettes.
| Bridgewater | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | Bridgewater | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.5% | 14.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.2% | 12.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Regional School District 12. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Burnham SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 68 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Bridgewater for work: only 9% work in town. 25% of workers work from home in Bridgewater. Jobs based in Bridgewater grew to 316 in 2023, 76 more than in 2013.
| Bridgewater | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bridgewater has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 47 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
20 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The trail density in Bridgewater is 1.2 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Sunny Valley Preserve (Wewaka Brook), 324 acres with 4.5 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sunny Valley Preserve (Wewaka Brook) | 4.5 mi | 324 |
| 2. Sunny Valley Preserve- Wolfpit Mt. Tract | 1.3 mi | 58 |
| 3. Sunny Valley Foundation,Inc.- Iron Ore Hill Tract | 1 mi | 69 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bridgewater.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bridgewater
About 7 of every 100 Bridgewater residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
2 places in Bridgewater on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Bridgewater is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,662 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 1,727 tabulated in 2010. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. Bridgewater is well known as being a weekend getaway for wealthy New Yorkers, due to its scenic wooded areas, location on the banks of Lake Lillinonah and proximity to New York City. Bridgewater was one of the last remaining dry towns (Eastford is still a dry town) in Connecticut until voters approved the sale of alcohol in a 2014 referendum, by a 660–246 vote. The Bridgewater Country Fair is a popular annual event held every August, attracting visitors from all …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Bridgewater.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater | — | — | C+ | — | A | A+ |
| New Milford | #89 | B | C | A− | C+ | A |
| Southbury | #96 | B− | D | — | B+ | A |
| Brookfield | #45 | A− | C | A− | B | A+ |
| Roxbury | — | — | D | — | A | A+ |
| Newtown | #61 | B+ | D | — | A− | A+ |
Bridgewater and Roxbury have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bridgewater, Southbury, Roxbury and Newtown report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bridgewater with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.5 times the library visits per person than the typical Connecticut town.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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