Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stamford is a city of 139,535, and it grades C+ overall, ranked 119th of 151 in Connecticut. Residents are healthier than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. The trade-offs: the typical home is worth about $718K, 7.9 years of the county’s $90K median household income, and its schools rank behind 83% of the state's. 34% of working residents work locally in Stamford, above both the Connecticut town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include First Presbyterian Church and Hoyt-Barnum House. On hazard risk, just 13 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do worse.
Where Stamford beats most towns.
First Presbyterian Church| Widest gap | Stamford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.3% | 5.6% |
First Presbyterian Church is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 36 National Register listings are more than in 96% of Connecticut towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,540 in 1880, 135,470 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1728 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
Stamford takes its name from Stamford in Lincolnshire, England, 3,390 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionStamford, settled in 1641, takes its name from Stamford, a large town in Lincolnshire, 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 Stamford is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stamford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw30 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw32 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw30 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stamford, 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 Stamford.
Stamford is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Connecticut; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Connecticut.
At 7.9 years of the county’s $90K median household income, the typical home (about $718K) costs more against local pay than in 92% of Connecticut towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
The median rent in Stamford is $2,276 a month. Typical home values rose 7.9% in the year to September 2026. 49% of Stamford households own their home.
| Stamford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,276 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 50% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, New Canaan highest at A+.
Its public schools are run by the Stamford School District. Three of its 35 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberry Hill an ext. of Rogers InternationalLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 799 | B+ |
| Westhill High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,224 | B− |
| Stamford Charter School for ExcellenceTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 543 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Within Connecticut it is healthier than 58% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar.
17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Stamford. Only 5 of the 154 Connecticut towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Stamford. 26% of adults have obesity in Stamford.
| Stamford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 6.1% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Stamford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.3% | 5.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 19.3% | 24.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.3% | 10% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
940 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 134 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 940 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stamford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stamford has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 24° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Stamford’s working residents works in town. Stamford’s median household income is $112,000. The top destinations are New York (13%), Greenwich (10%) and Norwalk (6%).
| Stamford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Stamford has grown 3% since 2020, to 139,535 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 43% across Connecticut.
| Stamford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.4 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 19% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1 point). Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.0, men 37.4.
| Stamford | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.3% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.2% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.9% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.6% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.6% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.5% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.2% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
31 miles of trail in 59 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Mianus River State Park Scenic Reserve, at 321 acres.
| Stamford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mianus River Park | 3.5 mi | 101 |
| 2. Stamford Museum & Nature Center | 3.2 mi | 95 |
| 3. Mianus Glen | 3 mi | 77 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 17.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 66% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Stamford is safe by national standards, yet each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Darien (B+) to New Canaan (A).
Among 90 Connecticut towns, just 8 have a higher violent crime rate than Stamford.
| Stamford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.1 per 1,000 residents | 9.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
7 within 15 miles of the center of Stamford
About 7 of every 100 Stamford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
36 places in Stamford on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Stamford.
City in Connecticut, U.S.
Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, 34 miles (55 kilometers) outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, and Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford surpassed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 census. It is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Danbury metropolitan statistical area, which is part of the New York City metropolitan area (specifically, the New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area). As of 2023, Stamford is home to eight Fortune 500 companies and numerous d…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Stamford.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Greenwich (A) is closest.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stamford | #119 | C+ | D− | B− | C− | A |
| Darien | #11 | A | D− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| New Canaan | #7 | A+ | D− | A | A+ | A+ |
| Greenwich | #17 | A | D− | A− | A− | A+ |
| Old Greenwich | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Noroton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Noroton Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Old Greenwich, Noroton and Noroton Heights aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stamford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Stamford grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #119 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health, B− for safety and C− 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−.
36 notable people were born here, including Christopher Lloyd and Harry Harrison.
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