Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Derby earns a D, 142nd among Connecticut's 151 graded towns, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 88% of the state's. It reports more crime per resident than 77% of U.S. towns, including 17 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it has 12 miles of trail. Derby’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile, above both the Connecticut town median (1.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On cost of living, just 15 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include John I. Howe House and Sterling Opera House.
Where Derby beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,994 in 1790, a low of 1,878 in 1800, 12,325 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Derby takes its name from Derby in Derbyshire, England, 3,310 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionDerby, settled in 1642, takes its name from Derby, a city in Derbyshire, England.
2 more U.S. towns are named after Derby:Derby, CO8,453Derby, VT4,456
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Derby is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Derby. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
23 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
23 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
8 mi MuseumYale University Art Gallery
37 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
8 mi MuseumYale Center for British ArtYale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Yale University Art Gallery: Ragesoss, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Yale Center for British Art: Sage Ross, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Derby, 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 Derby.
Derby trades workers with New Haven and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Connecticut.
The biggest place to walk is Osbornedale State Park, 414 acres with 6.7 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Osbornedale State Park | 6.7 mi | 414 |
| 2. Witek Park | 2.3 mi | 145 |
| 3. Fountain Lake | 0.7 mi | 40 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Derby School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Derby High School, with 360 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irving SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 322 | D |
| Derby High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 360 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
At 33.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 93% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 368 to 299 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Derby’s property crime rate is 21.6 per 1,000 residents, against 9.6 in Connecticut’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Derby reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 77% report less.
| Derby | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.6 per 1,000 residents | 9.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Ansonia is next at $385K.
The typical Derby home is worth about $342,000, up 3% in a year, 23% below the Connecticut typical home. 62% of Derby households own their home.
| Derby | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,452 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 28 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Derby.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Derby has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 84% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar.
Derby beats the Connecticut average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 34% of adults feel lonely in Derby.
| Derby | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 31% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Derby | CT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.1% | 9.8% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 66.3% | 70.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Derby has about as many jobs (4,556) as working residents, but only 331 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Derby for work: only 6% work in town. The median household income in Derby is $80,000. The top destinations are New Haven (9%), Shelton (9%) and Stratford (7%).
| Derby | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $80,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.5% | 11% | 8% |
| Work from home | 15% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 15% of residents (20% statewide). Derby’s median age is 46.4 years. Derby has grown 4.9% since 2020, to 12,925 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Derby | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 19% | 22% |
| Median age | 46.4 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 20% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Derby | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.9% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.7% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.8% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.8% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.9% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.4% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.4% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.9% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
10 within 15 miles of the center of Derby
About 6 of every 100 Derby residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
6 places in Derby on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Connecticut, United States
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers. It shares borders with the cities of Ansonia to the north and Shelton to the southwest, and the towns of Orange to the south, Seymour to the northwest, and Woodbridge to the east. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 12,325 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest city in Connecticut by area, at 5.3 square miles (14 km2). Derby was settled in 1642 as an Indian trading post under the name Paugasset. It was named after Derby, England, in …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Derby.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Ansonia (C−) is closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Derby grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #142 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 5.3 years of the area's median household income ($64,797 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
_-_2025.svg){kind=link}
