Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterbury earns a D−, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 90% of the state's. Residents are less healthy than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 25 places on the National Register. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Waterbury, above both the Connecticut town median (5.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 3 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score lower on incomes. Its National Register listings include Waterbury Municipal Center Complex and Waterbury Clock Company.
Where Waterbury beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Waterbury Brass Mill| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Rotella Interdistrict Magnet School | PK–5 | 614 |
| Wendell L. Cross School | PK–8 | 606 |
| Maloney Interdistrict Magnet School | PK–5 | 590 |
Census counts: 10,004 in 1860, 114,403 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1674 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
25 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Waterbury is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterbury. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
17 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
in town Theme parkHoly Land USA
24 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
22 mi LakeCandlewood Lake
26 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney StadiumLake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holy Land USA: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterbury, 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 Waterbury.
Waterbury is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Connecticut rate and has poverty well above the Connecticut rate.
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Cheshire highest at A.
Its public schools are run by the Waterbury School District. Two of its 39 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael F. Wallace Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 1,059 | C− |
| Crosby High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,453 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,418 U.S. towns with household incomes like Waterbury’s, it is less healthy than 70%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. All 6 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from Naugatuck (A−) to Cheshire (A+).
38% of adults get no exercise outside work in Waterbury. Only 1 of the 154 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Waterbury. 43% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Waterbury.
| Waterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 22% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 8.8% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 6.1% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Waterbury | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.4% | 8.5% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.2% | 15.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.1% | 9.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime runs at 2.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Connecticut rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−. Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Watertown (B) to Wolcott (A+).
The property crime rate in Waterbury is 23.4 per 1,000 residents. Only 3 of the 90 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Waterbury.
| Waterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.4 per 1,000 residents | 9.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Plymouth is next at $336K. Home values rose 61% in five years, to about $285K, against 41% across Connecticut.
The typical Waterbury home is worth about $285,000, up 3.6% in a year, 36% below the Connecticut typical home. 47% of Waterbury households own their home.
| Waterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 81% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 59% | 50% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,225 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 66 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waterbury.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Waterbury has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 47 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
25 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. Waterbury’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Mattatuck State Forest, 408 acres with 5.2 miles of trail.
| Waterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hop Brook Lake Recreation Area | 5.5 mi | 265 |
| 2. Mattatuck State Forest | 5.2 mi | 408 |
| 3. Bucks Hill Park | 1.8 mi | 77 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among 155 Connecticut towns, just 1 have a lower median household income than Waterbury. About one in 4 of Waterbury’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Waterbury fell to 35,317 in 2023, 2,198 fewer than in 2013.
| Waterbury | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.3% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3 within 15 miles of the center of Waterbury
About 6 of every 100 Waterbury residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
2 colleges in town.
25 places in Waterbury on the National Register of Historic Places.
59 notable people were born in Waterbury.
City in Connecticut, United States
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 Census. The city is 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Hartford and 77 miles (124 km) northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the largest city in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region and second-largest city in New Haven County. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Waterbury had large industrial interests and was the leading center in the United States for the manufacture of brassware (including castings and finishings), as reflected in the nickname the "Brass City" and the city's motto, Quid Aere Perennius? ("What Is More Lasting Than Brass?"). It was also noted for the manufactu…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Waterbury.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Naugatuck (C+) is closest.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterbury | #150 | D− | D | C− | D | D |
| Watertown | #75 | B+ | C− | B | C+ | A |
| Middlebury | #10 | A | C | A | B+ | A |
| Wolcott | #46 | A− | D | A+ | B− | A |
| Cheshire | #6 | A+ | C− | A | A | A+ |
| Prospect | #70 | B+ | C− | — | B | A |
| Oakville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Naugatuck | #111 | C+ | D | B | C | A− |
Prospect reports no FBI crime data of its own. Oakville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Waterbury with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Waterbury grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns. It grades D for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($64,797 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
59 notable people were born here, including Rosalind Russell and Annie Leibovitz.
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