Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. North Branford grades B overall, 76th of 151 graded towns in Connecticut. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 87% of the country and it reports less crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $478K for a typical one and 5.4 times the New Haven metro’s $88K median household income. 37% of the land in North Branford is conserved, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land, at 5,769 acres with 22 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 73% of U.S. towns.
Where North Branford beats most towns.
Where North Branford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far North Branford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 998 in 1850, 13,544 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1799 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Branford. Close and well known come first.
11 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
20 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
28 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
18 mi State parkGillette Castle State Park
10 mi MuseumYale University Art Gallery
28 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney StadiumYale 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 · Yale University Art Gallery: Ragesoss, Public domain · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Branford, 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 North Branford.
North Branford reports less crime than Wallingford or any other graded neighbor, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Connecticut and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Connecticut.
Its 6,263 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 98% of Connecticut towns.
Trails total 56 miles in 21 parks and preserves. In North Branford, the concentration of trails is 2.1 miles per square mile, against 1.3 in Connecticut’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land | 22 mi | 5,769 |
| 2. Big Gulph | 7.3 mi | 558 |
| 3. North Farms Park | 2.4 mi | 102 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the North Branford School District. Two of its 4 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is North Branford High School, with 432 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Harrison SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 385 | – |
| North Branford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 432 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 57% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 8.5% of its 5,469 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
In North Branford, 15% of adults report frequent mental distress. On the CDC’s 32 measures, North Branford is ahead of Connecticut on 8 and behind on 2. One in ten adults in North Branford smoke cigarettes; 9.3% have diabetes.
| North Branford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 9.4% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | North Branford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.5% | 14.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 10% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
That grade tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Wallingford (A−) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 112 to 74 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The rate of reported violence in North Branford is 0.2 per 1,000 residents. The property offense rate locally is 5.2 per 1,000 residents.
| North Branford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among residents in North Branford, 3.8% live below the poverty line. For most workers, North Branford is a place to come home to: only 10% work in town. Jobs in North Branford grew by 762 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 4,472. The town’s median household income stands at $108,000.
| North Branford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 12% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 19° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
North Branford’s natural-hazard score from FEMA comes in at 62 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 55 claims locally since 1979. FEMA puts two thirds of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 24% to hurricanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). In North Branford, the midpoint age is 48.5 years. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 35%, against 43% across Connecticut.
| North Branford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.5 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 45% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| North Branford | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.7% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.2% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.2% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.6% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.9% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.2% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.3% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Homes locally are typically worth about $478,000, up 8.7% in a year, 7% above the Connecticut typical home. In North Branford, the median rent is $1,613 a month. For households in the town, the share who are owner-occupiers is 89%.
| North Branford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,613 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
6 within 15 miles of the center of North Branford
About 5 of every 100 North Branford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
6 places in North Branford on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in North Branford.
Town in Connecticut, United States
North Branford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 13,544 at the 2020 census. The town is primarily known for agriculture and for other points of interest including Lake Gaillard and Northford Ice Pavilion. Wallingford, Durham, and North Haven border it to the north, East Haven to the west, Guilford to the east, and Branford to the south. The town has the neighborhoods of Totoket, Wood Chase, Sea Hill, Twin Lakes, Ashley Park, and Doral Farms. North Branford also includes the village of Northford.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with North Branford.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Branford | #76 | B | D | A− | B | A |
| Northford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Guilford | #40 | A− | D | B+ | A− | A |
| Wallingford | #53 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A |
| Branford | #90 | B | D | B− | B− | A |
| North Haven | #84 | B | D | C | B | A |
| East Haven | #130 | C− | C− | C+ | C− | B− |
| Durham | #48 | A− | B− | — | B− | A |
Durham reports no FBI crime data of its own. Northford isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare North Branford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. North Branford grades B overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #76 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. North Branford reports less crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade: 3 violent and 71 property crimes in 2025.
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.
6 notable people were born here, including Chris Hetherington and Ellsworth Foote.
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