Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Thompson is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 123rd among Connecticut's 151 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 68% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 70% of Connecticut towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $393K, 4.3 years of the Putnam area’s $91K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. Only 4 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score higher on cost of living. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is West Thompson Dam Recreation Area, 1,175 acres with 18.8 miles of trail.
Where Thompson beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,928 in 1820, 9,189 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1889 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Thompson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Thompson. Close and well known come first.
Big draw4 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
38 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
37 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
34 mi LakeQuabbin Reservoir
36 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun ArenaLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Quabbin Reservoir: engineerchange, CC BY 2.0 · Mohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thompson, 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 Thompson.
Thompson sends many workers across the state line to Webster and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Connecticut.
47% of working residents cross a state line to work, Webster among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Thompson for work: only 10% work in town. Thompson’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, against 27 minutes in Connecticut’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Thompson fell to 1,306 in 2023, 175 fewer than in 2013.
| Thompson | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Thompson School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary R. Fisher Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 359 | C+ |
| Tourtellotte Memorial High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 184 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
49 miles of trail in 27 parks and preserves. Thompson’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 1.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Thompson Dam Recreation Area | 18.8 mi | 1,175 |
| 2. Bull Hill Preserve | 4.2 mi | 819 |
| 3. Quaddick State Park | 1.4 mi | 86 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 80% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar.
Thompson beats the Connecticut average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 37% of Thompson adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Thompson | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | Thompson | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 10% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 14.9% |
| More smokers | 13% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Thompson has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Thompson’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 7.1% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Thompson is $1,012 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2005, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Thompson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thompson
About 3 of every 100 Thompson residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
Where Thompson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Thompson on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Thompson.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Thompson is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The town was named after Sir Robert Thompson, an English landholder. The population was 9,189 at the 2020 census. Thompson is located in the northeastern corner of the state and is bordered on the north by Webster, Massachusetts and Dudley, Massachusetts, on the east by Douglas, Massachusetts and Burrillville, Rhode Island, on the west by Woodstock, Connecticut, and on the south by Putnam, Connecticut. Thompson has the highest-banked race track (Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, a 5/8 mile oval and a restored 1.7 mile road course) in New England. This speedwa…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Thompson.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson | #123 | C | B | — | C | B+ |
| Woodstock | #99 | B− | C+ | — | C+ | A |
| Putnam | #126 | C | B− | B+ | C− | C+ |
| Quinebaug | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Thompson and Woodstock report no FBI crime data of their own. Quinebaug isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Thompson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Thompson grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #123 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades B+ for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
11 notable people were born here, including Augustine Lonergan and Ithiel Town.
