Photo: Jeff Bellinger · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Clinton costs more to live in than 74% of U.S. towns
It ranks #56 of 155 in Connecticut for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area ($95K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Clinton’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($95K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 24% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 44% of renters.
In dollars
- $1,820a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 4.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$95K, Hartford-area income
- 18%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 44%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Connecticut: 53%Census 2020–24
- 24%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What’s behind Clinton’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Clinton is more affordable than 26% of U.S. towns, #56 of 155 in Connecticut. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 56% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Clinton rose 56% over the past 5 years, slower than across Connecticut (62%). Last year prices rose 1.2%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Clinton home at roughly $469,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $469K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Clinton, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 7 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Clinton’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $133K short of a typical Clinton home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,820 a month here, $1,270 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Clinton’s typical property tax (1.62% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,820
Renters already here pay a median of $1,395, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
23 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 23 new homes in Clinton in 2025: 13 single-family houses and 10 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $5.7 million to build. That's 1.7 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Connecticut as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Clinton has permitted 236 homes in all.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 17 | 3 | 14 | $2.5 million |
| 2025 | 23 | 13 | 10 | $5.7 million |
| 2024 | 13 | 9 | 4 | $3.6 million |
| 2023 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $4.2 million |
| 2022 | 9 | 7 | 2 | $2.3 million |
| 2021 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $5 million |
| 2020 | 64 | 17 | 47 | $7.3 million |
| 2019 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2018 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2017 | 45 | 14 | 31 | $5.8 million |
| 2016 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2015 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2014 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2013 | 11 | 9 | 2 | $2.4 million |
| 2012 | 17 | 15 | 2 | $4.4 million |
| 2011 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2010 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2009 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2008 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2007 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2006 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $7.8 million |
| 2005 | 38 | 34 | 4 | $8 million |
| 2004 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $9.5 million |
| 2003 | 44 | 39 | 5 | $9 million |
| 2002 | 104 | 64 | 40 | $12.7 million |
| 2001 | 61 | 61 | 0 | $7.9 million |
| 2000 | 48 | 48 | 0 | $5.9 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Connecticut norm
The median bill is $6,151 (Connecticut: $6,643), 1.62% of a home’s value a year, against 1.81% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Clinton vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Clinton.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | C | — | $380K | 1.62% | $1,820 |
| Madison | D | $721K | $584K | 1.51% | $2,720 |
| Killingworth | C− | $632K | $446K | 1.47% | $2,250 |
| Westbrook | C− | $585K | $434K | 1.34% | $1,790 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Clinton
Is Clinton expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Clinton costs more than 74% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #56 of 155 in Connecticut. The typical home costs 4.0 years of the median household income of the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metro area ($95K).
How much is rent in Clinton?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,820 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,395 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Clinton?
The median bill is $6,151 a year, 1.62% of the median home value (Connecticut: $6,643, 1.81%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Clinton buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.