Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ellington grades B+ overall, 59th among Connecticut's 151 graded towns. The median household earns $130K. It is healthier than 94% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $447K, 4.7 years of the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income. 18% of the land in Ellington is conserved, against 14% in Connecticut’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 16 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse. Shenipsit State Forest, at 1,545 acres with 24.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Ellington beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,196 in 1820, 16,426 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Ellington is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ellington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
15 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
12 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
16 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
14 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
32 mi LakeQuabbin ReservoirLake 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ellington, 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 Ellington.
Ellington has less no health insurance than most of Connecticut and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
Its widest gap with Connecticut is no health insurance: 5.4% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10% statewide.
8.1% of Ellington adults have diabetes, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 9.4% and U.S. towns at 12%. 11% of Ellington adults report frequent physical distress. Ellington beats the Connecticut average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Ellington | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.1% | 9.4% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 9.7% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ellington | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Ellington School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ellington High School, with 701 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windermere SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 627 | A |
| Ellington High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 701 | B+ |
| Center SchoolTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 445 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
43 miles of trail in 48 parks and preserves. The trail density in Ellington is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shenipsit State Forest | 24.8 mi | 1,545 |
| 2. Pinney Street Open Space | 1.2 mi | 69 |
| 3. Ernie Boothroyd Nature Preserve | 1.2 mi | 57 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 2,930 in 2013 to 3,867.
Most working residents leave Ellington for work: only 10% work in town. Ellington’s average trip to work is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Ellington grew to 3,867 in 2023, 937 more than in 2013.
| Ellington | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $130,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.4% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ellington has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Connecticut average. 52% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ellington.
| Ellington | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 19% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.9 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 74% are men (CT 51%).
| Ellington | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.3% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.1% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.8% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.3% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.9% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.9% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 21.6% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ellington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Ellington home is worth about $447,000, up 3% in a year, close to the Connecticut typical home.
| Ellington | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,737 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 81% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Ellington
About 6 of every 100 Ellington residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Where Ellington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Ellington on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Ellington.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Ellington is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. Ellington was incorporated in May 1786, from East Windsor. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 16,426.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Ellington.
Vernon next door grades lower for schools (C to Ellington’s B+) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellington | #59 | B+ | D | — | B+ | A |
| Crystal Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tolland | #56 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A+ |
| East Windsor | #121 | C+ | C | C+ | C− | A− |
| Willington | #112 | C+ | C | — | B− | A− |
| Stafford | #107 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | A− |
| Vernon | #100 | B− | C | B+ | C | A− |
| Somers | #64 | B+ | C | — | B | A |
Ellington, Tolland, Willington, Stafford and Somers report no FBI crime data of their own. Crystal Lake isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ellington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ellington grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #59 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health and B+ 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.
Ellington was established in 1733 and has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 4 notable people were born here, including Meriva M. Carpenter and Orlow W. Chapman.
_-_2025.svg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
