Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Essex grades A− overall, ranked 27th of 151 in Connecticut. Residents are healthier than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $104K and its schools outperform 77% of the state's. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $635K, 6.7 years of the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. Essex’s trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile, against 1.3 in Connecticut’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Essex is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include CHRISTEEN (oyster sloop) and Steamboat Dock Site.
Where Essex beats most towns.
CHRISTEEN (oyster sloop) is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 950 in 1850, 6,733 in 2020. The archive holds 36 old photos and papers going back to 1790 and 4 maps from 1893 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Essex is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Essex. Close and well known come first.
5 mi State parkGillette Castle State Park
19 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun Arena
29 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowlin town Scenic railwayValley Railroad
32 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
33 mi Theme parkLake CompounceGillette Castle State Park: Original uploader was Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Mohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Essex, 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 Essex.
Essex has less food insecurity than most of Connecticut and trades workers with New Haven and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Connecticut.
34 miles of trail in 26 parks and preserves. Canfield - Meadow Woods Nature Preserve, at 259 acres with 5.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Canfield - Meadow Woods Nature Preserve | 5.1 mi | 259 |
| 2. The Preserve | 3.7 mi | 76 |
| 3. Bushy Hill Nature Preserve | 3 mi | 120 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Essex School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 307 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 6.1% of its 2,451 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
26% of Essex adults feel lonely, below both Connecticut’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (33%). 12% of Essex adults report frequent mental distress. Essex beats the Connecticut average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Essex | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 31% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 81% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 36% |
| What stands out | Essex | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 14.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.7% | 12.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.3% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 6.7 years of the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income, the typical home (about $635K) costs more against local pay than in 86% of Connecticut towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
Essex’s median rent is $1,623 a month. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Essex | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,623 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Essex has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 21° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Essex has about as many jobs (3,381) as working residents, but only 413 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Essex for work: only 14% work in town. 3.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Essex. The top destinations are New Haven (6%), Old Saybrook (5%) and Hartford (4%).
| Essex | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 63 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Essex.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Essex; the nearest are
About 9 of every 100 Essex residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
11.7% of the town is conserved land, across 26 parks and preserves.
10 places in Essex on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Essex is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 6,733 at the 2020 census. It is made up of three villages: Essex Village, Centerbrook, and Ivoryton.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Essex.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Deep River (A−) comes closest.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | #27 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
| Essex Village | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Deep River | #33 | A− | C | — | A− | A |
| Lyme | — | — | C− | — | A | A |
| Westbrook | #39 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Old Saybrook | #51 | A− | D | B | A− | A |
| Deep River Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lyme has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Essex, Deep River, Lyme and Westbrook report no FBI crime data of their own. Essex Village and Deep River Center aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Essex with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Essex grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #27 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health 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.
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