Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stafford is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, ranked 107th of 151 in Connecticut, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 81% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $93K. A typical home there costs about $264K, 2.8 years of the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. 26% of the land in Stafford is conserved, above both Connecticut’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). On walkability, just 4 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse. Shenipsit State Forest, at 5,303 acres with 43.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Stafford beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,269 in 1820, 11,472 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1810 and 6 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 Stafford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stafford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
16 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
16 mi Theme parkSix Flags New England
24 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
26 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
22 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney StadiumLake 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 · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stafford, 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 Stafford.
Stafford is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Connecticut; it also trails Ellington and its other neighbors on schools.
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 69% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar.
Stafford beats the Connecticut average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.1% of adults have diabetes in Stafford, near the Connecticut town median (9.4%) and below the median of U.S. towns (12%). 15% of Stafford adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Stafford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 9.4% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Stafford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.4% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Ellington highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by the Stafford School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Stafford High School, with 357 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 438 | B |
| Stafford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 357 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
74 miles of trail in 33 parks and preserves. Stafford’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shenipsit State Forest | 43.1 mi | 5,303 |
| 2. Nipmuck State Forest | 8.7 mi | 1,410 |
| 3. Culver Pond Nature Preserve | 1.8 mi | 191 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Stafford for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Stafford fell to 2,936 in 2023, 619 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Hartford (7%), Manchester (5%) and Enfield (5%).
| Stafford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Stafford has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Stafford is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stafford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Stafford
About 4 of every 100 Stafford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
Where Stafford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 notable people were born in Stafford.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Stafford is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States, settled in 1719. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 United States census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Stafford.
Ellington next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Stafford’s C+) and lower for cost of living (D to B−).
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford | #107 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | A− |
| Willington | #112 | C+ | C | — | B− | A− |
| Crystal Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ellington | #59 | B+ | D | — | B+ | A |
| Stafford Springs | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Somers | #64 | B+ | C | — | B | A |
| Union | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Stafford, Willington, Ellington and Somers report no FBI crime data of their own. Crystal Lake, Stafford Springs and Union aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stafford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Stafford grades C+ overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #107 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A− for health and C+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
8 notable people were born here, including Julius Converse and Erasmus D. Peck.
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