Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Darien grades A overall, ranked 11th of 151 in Connecticut. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally. Its schools rank ahead of 97% of Connecticut towns and the median household earns $250K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $2.5 million for a typical one and 21.6 times the Bridgeport metro’s $115K median household income. 86% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Darien, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 45% and U.S. towns at 29%. Darien is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 16 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse.
Where Darien beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Darien | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.4% | 14.9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Ox Ridge Elementary School | PK–5 | 625 |
| Tokeneke Elementary School | PK–5 | 439 |
| Hindley Elementary School | PK–5 | 411 |
Stephen Tyng Mather House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,126 in 1820, 21,499 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Darien is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Darien. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw34 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw33 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw32 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Darien, 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 Darien.
Darien is the healthiest town in Connecticut, has schools in the top 5% of Connecticut and sends many workers across the state line.
At 21.6 years of the Bridgeport metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home (about $2.47M) costs more against local pay than in any other Connecticut town; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 62% in five years, to about $2.47M, against 41% across Connecticut.
Darien’s median rent is $3,501 a month. Typical home values rose 14% in the year to September 2026.
| Darien | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #2 of the 152 Connecticut towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $2.47M.
Its public schools are run by the Darien School District. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,043 | A+ |
| Darien High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,382 | A+ |
| Ox Ridge Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 625 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
It is the healthiest of the 154 Connecticut towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 5.4% of its 14,668 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
8.5% of Darien adults report frequent physical distress. No town among the 154 in Connecticut we compare has a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Darien. 12% of Darien adults report frequent mental distress.
| Darien | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 30% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Darien | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.4% | 14.9% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4% | 9.8% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.8% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 233 to 171 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 7 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Darien is 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Darien | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
500 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 70 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 500 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Darien.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Darien has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 24° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
25% of working residents cross a state line to work. Darien has about as many jobs (7,457) as working residents, but only 1,018 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Darien for work: only 13% work in town. Only 3 of the 155 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher median household income than Darien. The top destinations are New York (21%), Stamford (15%) and Greenwich (7%).
| Darien | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 39 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $250,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
8.7 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. Among 155 Connecticut towns, just 1 have a lower share of conserved land than Darien. The biggest park or preserve is Woodland Park, at 66 acres.
| Darien | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Selleck's Woods Nature Preserve | 0.4 mi | 45 |
| 2. Baker Park | 0.3 mi | 15 |
| 3. Tilley Pond Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
5 within 15 miles of the center of Darien
About 5 of every 100 Darien residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
4 places in Darien on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Darien.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Darien ( DAIR-ee-AN) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. Situated on the Long Island Sound between the cities of Stamford and Norwalk, Darien is a commuter town for New York City. There are two railroad stations in Darien, Noroton Heights and Darien, linking the town to Grand Central Terminal.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Darien.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | #11 | A | D− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Stamford | #119 | C+ | D− | B− | C− | A |
| Norwalk | #109 | C+ | D− | B | C | A |
| Noroton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tokeneke | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Noroton Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Canaan | #7 | A+ | D− | A | A+ | A+ |
Noroton, Tokeneke and Noroton Heights aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Darien with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Darien grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #11 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
25 notable people were born here, including Matthew Porretta and Spencer Knight.
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