Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Hartford grades B overall, 80th of 151 graded towns in Connecticut. It has 56 miles of trail. Residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $130K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $411K for a typical one and 4.3 times the Hartford metro’s $95K median household income. West Hartford’s concentration of trails is 2.5 miles per square mile, above both Connecticut’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include Noah Webster Birthplace and Edward W. Morley House. Only 7 of Connecticut’s 92 towns score lower on safety.
Where West Hartford beats most towns.
Noah Webster Birthplace is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 4,411 in 1850, a low of 1,296 in 1860, 64,083 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1760 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
26 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far West Hartford is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for health (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Hartford. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
7 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
25 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a year
12 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
3 mi MuseumMark Twain House
4 mi MuseumWadsworth Atheneum Museum of ArtPeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Mark Twain House: Makemake at German Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art: Daderot at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Hartford, 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 West Hartford.
West Hartford trades workers with Hartford and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of Connecticut and is safe by national standards but not by Connecticut’s.
West Hartford Reservoirs Recreation Area, at 1,623 acres with 31.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. It has 23 parks and preserves, 2,618 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Hartford Reservoirs Recreation Area | 31.1 mi | 1,623 |
| 2. Reservoir 6 Recreation Area | 4.6 mi | 412 |
| 3. Westmoor Park | 4.1 mi | 140 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the West Hartford School District. Three of its 29 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 874 | B |
| Conard High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,380 | A |
| Bugbee SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 343 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Connecticut is tooth loss: 5.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.8% statewide.
West Hartford: 5.6% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Of 32 CDC measures, West Hartford beats the Connecticut average on 20 and trails it on 1. 7.3% of adults in West Hartford smoke cigarettes; 27% have obesity.
| West Hartford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.3% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | West Hartford | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.1% | 9.8% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.6% | 10% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 27.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 91% of Connecticut’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 2,013 to 1,276 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate for West Hartford comes to 19.3 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate for West Hartford comes to 0.4 per 1,000 residents, near the Connecticut town median (0.4) and below the median of U.S. towns (1.6).
| West Hartford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.3 per 1,000 residents | 9.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The range runs from 19° on a January night to 85° on a July afternoon, with about 39 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
West Hartford has about as many jobs (25,516) as working residents, but only 4,021 people both live and work here.
The share of working residents in West Hartford who work locally: 14%. For half of commuters, work is under 6 miles away. The town’s average trip to work stands at 22 minutes. The top destinations are Hartford (22%), Farmington (6%) and Bloomfield (4%).
| West Hartford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $130,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
282 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 26 properties have flooded more than once.
The national flood insurance program has paid 282 claims in West Hartford since 1978. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. 81% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among renter households locally, 43% spend 30% or more of their income on rent. West Hartford’s going rate for rent comes in at $1,756 a month. A home in West Hartford typically sold within 19 days of listing.
| West Hartford | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,756 a month | $1,448 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 81% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 43% | 50% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of West Hartford
About 6 of every 100 West Hartford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
23% of the town is conserved land, across 23 parks and preserves.
26 places in West Hartford on the National Register of Historic Places.
28 notable people were born in West Hartford.
Town in Connecticut, United States
West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of downtown Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The Center," and is centered on Farmington Avenue and South/North Main Street. West Hartford Center has been the community's main commercial hub since the late 17th century. Incorporated as a town in 1854, West Hartford was previously a parish of Hartford, founded in 1672. Among the southernmost of the communities in the Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor metropolitan region, West Hartfo…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with West Hartford.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Hartford | #80 | B | D | C | B+ | A+ |
| Farmington | #29 | A− | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Hartford | #151 | D− | D− | D | D | D |
| Bloomfield | #128 | C | C− | C+ | C− | B+ |
| Newington | #95 | B− | C | C+ | B− | A− |
| Avon | #19 | A | D | A− | A− | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. West Hartford grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #80 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A+ for health, C for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Connecticut has less crime than most states, so among its own towns West Hartford sits nearer the middle.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $411,000, 8% below the Connecticut typical home.
28 notable people were born here, including Edward Norton Lorenz and Jimmy Shea.
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