Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Meriden grades D overall, 140th among Connecticut's 151 graded towns, mostly because of schools. Its public schools trail 79% of Connecticut towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: it has 44 miles of trail. Meriden’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, against 1.3 in Connecticut’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 12 of Connecticut’s 174 towns score lower on health. Meriden is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Meriden beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,309 in 1820, 60,850 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1798 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Meriden takes its name from Meriden in West Midlands, England, 3,300 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionMeriden, settled in 1806, takes its name from Meriden, a village in West Midlands, 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 Meriden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Meriden. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
18 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
17 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
18 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
36 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
20 mi State parkGillette Castle State ParkLake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Six Flags New England: Canadaolympic989, Public domain · Gillette Castle State Park: Original uploader was Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Meriden, 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 Meriden.
Meriden costs less than Middletown or any other town next door and is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s; it also scores below Middletown and its other neighbors on health.
On this, Meriden is where Connecticut’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. City of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land, at 1,456 acres with 8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hubbard Park | 15.2 mi | 914 |
| 2. Doctor Francis Giuffrida Park | 10.7 mi | 535 |
| 3. City of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land | 8 mi | 1,456 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, Cheshire highest at A.
Its public schools are run by the Meriden School District. Three of its 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edison Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 773 | – |
| Francis T. Maloney High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,291 | C |
| Thomas Hooker SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 404 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Meriden for work: only 17% work in town. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Meriden. The top destinations are Wallingford (10%), New Haven (6%) and Middletown (5%).
| Meriden | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.6% | 16% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Middletown is next at $366K.
The typical Meriden home is worth about $326,000, up 4.4% in a year, 27% below the Connecticut typical home. 60% of Meriden households own their home.
| Meriden | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 81% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 50% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,294 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
182 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 27 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 182 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Meriden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Meriden has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 25.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 88% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Berlin (B−) to Cheshire (A).
Meriden’s property crime rate is 16.7 per 1,000 residents. Only 9 of the 90 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Meriden.
| Meriden | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.7 per 1,000 residents | 9.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
All 6 graded neighbors score healthier than its C+, from Middletown (A−) to Cheshire (A+).
Meriden beats the Connecticut average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. Only 5 of the 154 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Meriden.
| Meriden | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 6.1% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 22% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 8.8% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Meriden | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.3% | 8.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 15% | 10% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Meriden
About 6 of every 100 Meriden residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Where Meriden’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
12 places in Meriden on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Connecticut, United States
Meriden ( MAIR-ə-din) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven and Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Meriden.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Middletown (C+) is closest.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meriden | #140 | D | D | C+ | C− | C+ |
| Cheshire | #6 | A+ | C− | A | A | A+ |
| Berlin | #72 | B+ | C− | B− | B | A |
| Wallingford | #53 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A |
| Southington | #65 | B+ | C | B− | B+ | A |
| Middlefield | #106 | B− | D | — | B− | A |
| Middletown | #115 | C+ | D | B | C | A− |
Middlefield reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Meriden with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Meriden grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #140 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and C− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Connecticut has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Meriden sits nearer the middle.
Yes. That is 5 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.
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