Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stratford grades C+ overall, ranked 116th of 151 in Connecticut, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $465K, 4.1 years of the Bridgeport metro’s $115K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Stratford Center Historic District and Housatonic River Railroad Bridge. On civic life, just 15 of Connecticut’s 174 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, at 428 acres.
Where Stratford beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1639, comes before those of 93% of the Connecticut towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 3,438 in 1820, a low of 2,040 in 1850, 52,355 in 2020. The archive holds 41 old photos and papers going back to 1668 and 6 maps from 1891 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Stratford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stratford. Close and well known come first.
11 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
39 mi LandmarkFerncliff Cemetery
21 mi MuseumGlass House
32 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
29 mi National Historic SiteSagamore Hill National Historic Site122K visitors a year
27 mi LakeCandlewood LakeYale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ferncliff Cemetery: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Glass House: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Sagamore Hill National Historic Site: Unknown, Public domain · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stratford, 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 Stratford.
Stratford trades workers with Bridgeport and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Connecticut.
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 63% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar.
18% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Stratford, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 23%. 27% of Stratford adults have obesity. Stratford beats the Connecticut average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Stratford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 6.1% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 31% | 33% |
| What stands out | Stratford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with depression | 17.5% | 20.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Stratford School District. Two of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second Hill Lane SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 610 | C |
| Stratford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,150 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Stratford has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 24° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
12 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. At 0.6 miles per square mile, Stratford’s trail density is against 1.3 in Connecticut’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, at 428 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Roosevelt Forest | 5.2 mi | 290 |
| 2. Stratford Point Reserve | 1 mi | 26 |
| 3. Short Beach Park | 0.7 mi | 98 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Stratford has about as many jobs (24,221) as working residents, but only 3,116 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Stratford for work: only 12% work in town. The average trip to work in Stratford is 30 minutes. Since 2013, Stratford has lost 1,636 jobs, to 24,221 in 2023.
| Stratford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 16% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
628 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 76 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 628 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stratford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Connecticut average. 18% of residents are under 18 in Stratford. Stratford has grown 2.9% since 2020, to 53,908 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Stratford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.7 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 20% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.2 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 47.8, men 42.6.
| Stratford | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.7% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.1% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.1% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.7% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.9% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.6% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.7% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 20.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 74% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,076 to 741 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Stratford’s property crime rate is 13.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Stratford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.3 per 1,000 residents | 9.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026.
| Stratford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,706 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 81% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of Stratford
About 6 of every 100 Stratford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Coastal flooding makes up 10% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
10 places in Stratford on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Stratford.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region and the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled by the Puritans in 1639. The population was 52,355 as of the 2020 census. It is bordered on the west by Bridgeport, to the north by Trumbull and Shelton, and on the east by Milford (across the Housatonic River). Stratford has a historical legacy in aviation, the military, and theater.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Stratford.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford | #116 | C+ | C− | B− | C− | A− |
| Bridgeport | #146 | D− | C− | C | D | C |
| Shelton | #71 | B+ | D | A− | B− | A |
| Oronoque | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Milford | — | — | C− | C+ | — | — |
| Trumbull | #66 | B+ | D | C+ | A− | A+ |
| Trumbull Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lordship | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Oronoque, Milford, Trumbull Center and Lordship aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Stratford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Stratford grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #116 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 C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
18 notable people were born here, including William Samuel Johnson and Javier Colon.
