Sandy Beach, Crystal Lake, Ellington Connecticut USA, 2007
Crystal Lake’s story
137 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
- 1889Crystal Lake is settled
Crystal LakeCT
A town of 2,024, settled in 1889.
6 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Elipongo · Public domain
Population
2,024
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$362K
Census ACS
Household income
$144K
median
Median age
48.9
years
Jobs based here
167
A commuter town
Is Crystal Lake a good place to live?
Crystal Lake’s mean commuting time is 39 minutes, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. No town among the 156 in Connecticut we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Crystal Lake. 26% of the land in Crystal Lake is conserved, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest place to walk is Shenipsit State Forest, 641 acres with 9.4 miles of trail. We don’t grade Crystal Lake yet; the figures below are still real.
A growing town
Crystal Lake has grown 11% from 2010 to 2020
1,945 counted in 2010 and 2,152 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Nearby attractions
All 176 attractions →Lake Chaubunagungamaug and 84 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Crystal Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
16 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
14 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
19 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
17 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
30 mi LakeQuabbin ReservoirSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0
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Getting set up
Moving to Crystal Lake: who provides what
Crystal Lake is unincorporated, so Tolland County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerEversource28.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet4 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesTolland CountyTolland County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Connecticut you can register online until 18 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 18 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereEllington Town ClerkTown of Ellington; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2019
ZIP codes06029, 0608406029 97% · 06084 2%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Crystal Lake.
Who lives here
Fewer young adults than Connecticut overall
46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Crystal Lake. Adults 18 to 34 are 7% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide). Its age of the median resident comes in at 48.9 years.
48.9median age · CT 41.1
| Crystal Lake | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.9 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 45% | 29% |
Crystal LakeConnecticutUnited States
Ages · share of residents
19%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma4%
High school28%
Some college14%
Associate’s8%
Bachelor’s24%
Graduate22%
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 35% and 76% women
The Census survey reached too few of Crystal Lake’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±20.9 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Crystal Lake | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.9% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 18.6% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.3% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.2% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.5% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.5% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.4% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,000, single groups can be off by several points
Outdoors
In Crystal Lake, nearly a quarter of the land is conserved
Trails run 15 miles in 19 parks and preserves. Crystal Lake’s trail network density stands at 1.6 miles per square mile.
25.6%conserved
25.6%
conserved · 1,498 of 5,844 acres
15 mi
of trails · 1.6 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shenipsit State Forest | 9.4 mi | 641 |
| 2. Ernie Boothroyd Nature Preserve | 1.2 mi | 58 |
| 3. Shenipsit Woods Preserve | 0.5 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Work & commute
Compared with most of Connecticut and the rest of the country, fewer of Crystal Lake’s residents live below the poverty line
Half the trips to work are shorter than 17 miles. In Crystal Lake, the median household income is $144,000. The town had 167 jobs in 2023, up 92 from 2013. The top destinations are Hartford (13%), Ellington (11%) and Manchester (5%).
0%work in town
| Crystal Lake | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $144,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.7% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Crystal Lake0%
Hartford13%
Ellington11%
Manchester5%
Vernon5%
17 mi
median commute distance
167
jobs based in Crystal Lake
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
In Crystal Lake, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
The range runs from 17° on a January night to 82° on a July afternoon, with about 39 inches of snow a winter.
39″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–37°
Spring36–58°
Summer58–80°
Fall42–62°
Oct 22
typical first frost
Apr 19
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
How healthy Crystal Lake is
13% of Crystal Lake adults say their health is fair or poor. Of 32 CDC measures, Crystal Lake beats the Connecticut average on 11 and trails it on 1. Two figures for adults in the town: 8.1% have diabetes, 30% have high blood pressure.
| Crystal Lake | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.1% | 9.4% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 19% |
32 measures vs. Connecticut
11 better20 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Crystal Lake | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.2% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.5% |
Johnson Memorial Hospital
3.1 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazards
Crystal Lake faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Crystal Lake than in 60% of U.S. communities.
40risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Housing
Homes in Crystal Lake sell for about $605K
The share of households in Crystal Lake who live in a home they own: 91%.
$605Kmedian sale price
1
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Crystal Lake
16pages on Crystal Lake
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Crystal Lake
University of ConnecticutUniversity or college · Public · Storrs10.9 mi$21,044 in-state tuitionBay Path UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Longmeadow, MA13.4 mi$38,302 tuitionWestern New England UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Springfield, MA14.5 mi$47,820 tuition
About 6 of every 100 Crystal Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
A commuter town
100% of working residents leave Crystal Lake for work
Where Crystal Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
167jobs based in Crystal Lake
0%of working residents work in town
17 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Crystal Lake
Census-designated place in Connecticut, United States
Crystal Lake is a village, census-designated place, and part of the town of Ellington, in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, Crystal Lake had a population of 2,152. The CDP includes an eponymous lake.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 636 ft
- Area code
- 860
Crystal Lake’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Crystal Lake.
EllingtonWillingtonStaffordTollandStafford SpringsSomersCrystal Lake
How the neighbors grade
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ellington | #59 | B+ | D | — | B+ | A |
| Willington | #112 | C+ | C | — | B− | A− |
| Stafford | #107 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | A− |
| Tolland | #56 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Stafford Springs | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Somers | #64 | B+ | C | — | B | A |
Ellington, Willington, Stafford, Tolland and Somers report no FBI crime data of their own. Crystal Lake and Stafford Springs aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Crystal Lake with a neighbor →
Questions about Crystal Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Crystal Lake, CT a good place to live?
We don’t grade Crystal Lake yet; the figures below are still real.