Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Waterford grades B overall, 92nd of 151 graded towns in Connecticut. It is healthier than 85% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $356K for a typical one and 4.1 times the Norwich metro’s $87K median household income. Its National Register listings include Graniteville Historic District and Eolia-Harkness Estate. Waterford’s average trip to work is 22 minutes, below both Connecticut’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Connecticut College Arboretum, at 477 acres with 4.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Waterford beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,239 in 1820, 19,571 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Waterford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterford. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun Arena
16 mi State parkGillette Castle State Park
9 mi MuseumMystic Seaport
40 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
4 mi MuseumSubmarine Force Library and Museum150K visitors a year
37 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney StadiumMohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gillette Castle State Park: Original uploader was Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Mystic Seaport: Joethon, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Submarine Force Library and Museum: Flickr user : https://www.flickr.com/photos/divemasterking2000, CC BY 2.0 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterford, 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 Waterford.
Waterford trades workers with Groton 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 61% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 9.2% of its 10,602 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
83% of Waterford adults had a checkup this year. Waterford beats the Connecticut average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 9.1% of Waterford adults smoke cigarettes.
| Waterford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Waterford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 14.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.4% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Waterford School District. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Waterford High School, with 713 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Lane Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 529 | B |
| Waterford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 713 | B |
| Great Neck Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 309 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Waterford has chilly winters and pleasant summers. Waterford’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Waterford has about as many jobs (8,222) as working residents, but only 1,221 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Waterford for work: only 14% work in town. Jobs based in Waterford fell to 8,222 in 2023, 1,848 fewer than in 2013. 4.6% of residents live below the poverty line in Waterford.
| Waterford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 10% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $105,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
26 miles of trail in 45 parks and preserves. The trail density in Waterford is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Connecticut College Arboretum | 4.4 mi | 477 |
| 2. Harkness Memorial State Park | 2.8 mi | 281 |
| 3. Stenger Farm Park | 1.9 mi | 94 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 14.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 52% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (19% statewide). Waterford has grown 4.4% since 2020, to 20,435 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 41% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 43% across Connecticut.
| Waterford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 19% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Waterford | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.5% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.6% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.3% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.4% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.5% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.1% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
88 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 88 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waterford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Waterford
About 6 of every 100 Waterford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
9 places in Waterford on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Waterford.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 19,571 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) and had a population of 3,074 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Waterford.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford | #92 | B | C− | B | B− | A− |
| New London | #144 | D | D | C+ | D− | C+ |
| East Lyme | #32 | A− | D | A | B+ | A |
| Niantic | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Montville | #105 | B− | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Ledyard | #67 | B+ | D | A | B− | A |
| Conning Towers-Nautilus Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Groton | #97 | B− | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
Montville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Niantic and Conning Towers-Nautilus Park aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Waterford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Waterford grades B overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #92 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A− for health, B for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $356,000, 20% below the Connecticut typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
10 notable people were born here, including Ann Haven Morgan and Cornellia Van A. Chapin.
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