Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Cornwall costs more to live in than 75% of U.S. towns
Builders were permitted 7 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Torrington, CT micro area ($94K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Cornwall’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($94K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 31% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 47% of renters.
In dollars
- $2,110a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 5.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$94K, Torrington-area income
- 13%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 31%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Cornwall, in brief
A second-home town
31% of Cornwall’s homes are seasonal or vacation homes, empty for much of the year. Year-round rentals are scarce: there are 62 renter households. Property taxes ↓
A low property tax rate
Owners pay about 1.04% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 1.81% across Connecticut. The median bill is $5,792 (Connecticut: $6,643). Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Cornwall, so the typical value is the Census median; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Cornwall’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Cornwall is more affordable than 25% of U.S. towns. Home prices pull the grade down most; rent holds it up.
A typical home costs 5.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Cornwall’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $196K short of a typical Cornwall home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,110 a month here, $1,280 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Cornwall’s typical property tax (1.04% 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 $2,110
Renters already here pay a median of $1,047, 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 (Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
7 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 7 new homes in Cornwall in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $3.6 million to build. That's 4.9 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Connecticut (2). Over the past 10 years, Cornwall has permitted 22 homes in all.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 5 | 5 | 0 | $2.6 million |
| 2025 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $800,000 |
| 2022 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $719,000 |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $700,000 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $345,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $95,000 |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $600,000 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $250,000 |
| 2012 | 14 | 4 | 10 | $5.8 million |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $205,000 |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $80,000 |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2007 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2006 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2005 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2004 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2003 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2002 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2001 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $978,000 |
| 2000 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $517,000 |
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 $5,792 (Connecticut: $6,643), 1.04% 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+”.
Cornwall vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Cornwall. Sharon and Canaan have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | C | — | $555K | 1.04% | $2,110 |
| Sharon | D | — | $591K | 0.76% | $2,390 |
| Goshen | C | $578K | $482K | 1.10% | $2,280 |
| Canaan | D− | — | $469K | 1.35% | $2,120 |
| Kent | B | $616K | $471K | 0.96% | $1,900 |
| Warren | C− | $650K | $450K | 0.84% | $2,210 |
“—” 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 Cornwall
Is Cornwall expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Cornwall costs more than 75% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living. The typical home costs 5.9 years of the median household income of the Torrington, CT micro area ($94K).
How much is rent in Cornwall?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,110 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,047 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Cornwall?
The median bill is $5,792 a year, 1.04% of the median home value (Connecticut: $6,643, 1.81%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Cornwall buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. 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.