Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Durham grades A− overall, ranked 48th of 151 in Connecticut, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country and the median household earns $159K. A typical home there costs about $425K, 4.5 years of the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income. Durham’s median household income is $159,000, against $109,000 in Connecticut’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Only 11 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score higher on cost of living. Durham's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Durham beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,079 in 1790, 7,152 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Durham takes its name from Durham in County Durham, England, 3,250 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionDurham, settled in 1699, takes its name from Durham, a large town in County Durham, England.
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 Durham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Durham. Close and well known come first.
18 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
17 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
21 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
14 mi State parkGillette Castle State Park
20 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
31 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun ArenaYale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Gillette Castle State Park: Original uploader was Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Mohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Durham, 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 Durham.
Durham has less food insecurity than most of Connecticut and has household incomes well above the Connecticut norm.
49 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The trail density in Durham is 2.1 miles per square mile. Cockaponset State Forest, at 1,210 acres with 10.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cockaponset State Forest | 10.1 mi | 1,210 |
| 2. Mount Pisgah Open Space | 8.8 mi | 186 |
| 3. Millers Pond State Park | 4.9 mi | 179 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Regional School District 13. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Coginchaug Regional High School, with 356 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Ward Strong SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 319 | B+ |
| Coginchaug Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 356 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 7.4% of its 5,704 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide. Against the 2,238 U.S. towns with household incomes like Durham’s, it is healthier than 67%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
28% of Durham adults feel lonely. Durham beats the Connecticut average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 31% of Durham adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Durham | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Durham | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 14.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 10% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Durham for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Durham grew to 2,247 in 2023, 363 more than in 2013. 3.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Durham.
| Durham | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.4% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.9% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median household earns $158,857, against $95,781 across Connecticut, one input to its A for jobs and income.
Adults 35 to 64 are 49% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Durham’s median age is 45.5 years. 48% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 43% across Connecticut.
| Durham | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.5 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Durham | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.5% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.9% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.8% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.5% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.8% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 24.2% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Durham has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84° and January nights drop to 19°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Durham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Only 8 of the 155 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher share of households owning their home than Durham.
| Durham | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,154 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Durham
About 4 of every 100 Durham residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
Where Durham’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Durham on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Durham.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Durham ( DURR-əm) is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 7,152 at the 2020 census. Every autumn, the town hosts the Durham Fair, the largest volunteer agricultural fair in New England. The Durham town center is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place. The core of the town center has also been listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Durham.
Guilford next door grades higher for schools (A− to Durham’s B−) and lower for cost of living (D to B−).
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | #48 | A− | B− | — | B− | A |
| Haddam | #62 | B+ | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Guilford | #40 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Killingworth | #52 | A− | C− | — | A− | A+ |
| Middlefield | #106 | B− | D | — | B− | A |
| Wallingford | #53 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A |
| Northford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Branford | #76 | B | D | A− | B | A |
Durham, Haddam, Killingworth and Middlefield report no FBI crime data of their own. Northford isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Durham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Durham grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #48 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
The typical home is worth about $425,000, 5% below the Connecticut typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
9 notable people were born here, including Chauncey Goodrich and Moses Austin.
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