Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,566, settled in 1788.
Brookfield's standout: residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Overall it grades A−, 45th among Connecticut's 151 graded towns. The median household earns $148K and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 82% of U.S. towns. Brookfield’s median household income is $148,000, above both Connecticut’s towns ($109,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Only 12 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score lower on history. The biggest place to walk is School Park, 102 acres with 2.9 miles of trail.
Where Brookfield beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Brookfield | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 14.9% |
Census counts: 1,159 in 1820, a low of 896 in 1920, 17,528 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 6 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 Brookfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brookfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
4 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
38 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
33 mi National Historic SiteHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site102K visitors a year
25 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
27 mi Theme parkLake CompounceUnited States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brookfield, 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 Brookfield.
Brookfield has more 90° days than almost anywhere else in Connecticut, trades workers with Danbury and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s.
Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 8.4% of its 14,012 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
23% of adults have obesity in Brookfield. Brookfield beats the Connecticut average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 18% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Brookfield.
| Brookfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 30% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.1% | 9.7% | 14% |
| What stands out | Brookfield | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 14.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.8% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Brookfield School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Brookfield High School, with 849 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candlewood Lake Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,085 | – |
| Brookfield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 849 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
At 7.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 70% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 146 to 94 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Brookfield is 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Brookfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 9.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Brookfield home is worth about $581,000, up 5% in a year, 30% above the Connecticut typical home. Brookfield’s median rent is $1,892 a month.
| Brookfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,892 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 87% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gurski Farm Open Space | 3.7 mi | 100 |
| 2. School Park | 2.9 mi | 102 |
| 3. Happy Landings Protected Open Space | 2.2 mi | 46 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Danbury weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 20 days a year reach 90°, the highest of 364 Connecticut places with climate records.
Brookfield has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Brookfield has about as many jobs (6,931) as working residents, but only 1,106 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Brookfield for work: only 14% work in town. 4.1% of Brookfield residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Brookfield grew to 6,931 in 2023, 624 more than in 2013.
| Brookfield | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 11% | 8% |
| Work from home | 16% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brookfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brookfield
About 4 of every 100 Brookfield residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
4 notable people were born in Brookfield.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Brookfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, situated within the southern foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. The population was 17,528 at the 2020 census. The town is located 55 miles (89 km) northeast of New York City, making it part of the New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA combined statistical area. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. In July 2013, Money magazine ranked Brookfield the 26th-best place to live in the United States, and the best place to live in Connecticut. Colonists settled in what is now known as Brookfield in 1710, led by John Muirwood and other colonial founders including Hawley, Peck and Merwin. They bartered for the land…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Brookfield.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Newtown (B+) comes closest.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | #45 | A− | C | A− | B | A+ |
| New Fairfield | #63 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Candlewood Orchards | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Candlewood Shores | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bridgewater | — | — | C+ | — | A | A+ |
| New Milford | #89 | B | C | A− | C+ | A |
| Newtown | #61 | B+ | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Danbury | #135 | C− | D− | B− | D | B+ |
Bridgewater has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. New Fairfield, Bridgewater and Newtown report no FBI crime data of their own. Candlewood Orchards and Candlewood Shores aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Brookfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Brookfield grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #45 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and B for schools.
That is 5.1 years of the area's median household income ($114,565 across the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT metro area).
4 notable people were born here, including Joseph Collins and Albert Elijah Dunning.
