Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Portland grades A− overall, 26th of 151 graded towns in Connecticut, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $119K and it is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 32% of the land in Portland is conserved, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Meshomasic State Forest, at 3,570 acres with 35.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Portland beats most towns.
Portland Brownstone Quarries is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,836 in 1850, 9,384 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 7 maps from 1893 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Portland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portland. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
11 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
35 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
18 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
28 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
15 mi State parkGillette Castle State ParkPeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Castle State Park: Original uploader was Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portland, 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 Portland.
Portland reports less crime than East Hampton 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 5,122 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 95% of Connecticut towns.
63 miles of trail in 38 parks and preserves. Portland’s trail density is 2.6 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. Meshomasic State Forest | 35.2 mi | 3,570 |
| 2. Portland Reservoir | 3.1 mi | 256 |
| 3. Rattlesnake Brook Preserve | 2.7 mi | 158 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Portland School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Portland High School, with 323 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gildersleeve SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–4 | Grades 2–4 | 253 | B |
| Portland High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 323 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Within Connecticut it is healthier than 67% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 8.4% of its 7,484 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
28% of adults feel lonely in Portland. Portland beats the Connecticut average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Portland.
| Portland | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | Portland | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 14.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 10% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; East Hampton (A) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
Portland’s property crime rate is 4.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Portland | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Portland for work: only 9% work in town. 3.9% of Portland residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Portland has added 114 jobs, to 2,242 in 2023.
| Portland | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $119,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 19% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1983, 47 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Portland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Portland has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide). 52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 43% across Connecticut.
| Portland | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 19% | 22% |
| Median age | 41.6 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women. Among residents 35 to 44, 60% are men (CT 50%).
| Portland | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.9% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.6% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.2% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.3% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.6% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.8% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.3% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The median rent in Portland is $1,129 a month.
| Portland | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,129 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of Portland
About 8 of every 100 Portland residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Where Portland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Portland on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Portland.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Portland ( PORT-lənd) is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 9,384 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP). It is situated across the Connecticut River from Middletown. Brownstone quarried in Portland was used in the construction of Hartford's Old State House in 1796. The vast majority of the brownstone buildings in Connecticut (see College Row at Wesleyan University and the Long Walk at Trinity College) as well as the famous brownstones in New York City were built with brownstone from Portland's quarries. Later, one of the quarries was tran…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Portland.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | #26 | A− | C+ | A | B− | A |
| Cromwell | #79 | B | C− | C+ | B | A |
| East Hampton | #41 | A− | C | A | B | A |
| Middletown | #115 | C+ | D | B | C | A− |
| Glastonbury | #20 | A | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Portland grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #26 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health, A for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
The typical home is worth about $337,000, 25% 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 C+.
8 notable people were born here, including Guy Hedlund and Myron Cady Cramer.
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