Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Homes are expensive, about $363K for a typical one and 5.6 times the county’s $65K median household income. Overall it grades C−, 132nd among Connecticut's 151 graded towns. It is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 76% of Connecticut towns on state tests and graduation. Only 17 of Connecticut’s 174 towns score lower on health. West Haven is home to University of New Haven. Only 7 of Connecticut’s 174 towns score lower on civic life.
Where West Haven beats most towns.
American Mills Web Shop| College | Students |
|---|---|
| University of New Haven | 8,817 |
Census counts: 25,808 in 1930, 55,584 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1725 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far West Haven is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 3%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Haven. Close and well known come first.
3 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
3 mi MuseumYale University Art Gallery
3 mi MuseumYale Center for British Art
26 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
4 mi MuseumYale Peabody Museum
37 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank ArenaYale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yale University Art Gallery: Ragesoss, Public domain · Yale Center for British Art: Sage Ross, Public domain · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Yale Peabody Museum: No machine-readable author provided. Ragesoss assumed (based on copyright claims, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Haven, 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 Haven.
West Haven reports less crime than Milford or any other graded neighbor and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Connecticut; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its public schools are run by the West Haven School District. Two of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry M. Bailey Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 885 | C+ |
| West Haven High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,813 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave West Haven for work: only 13% work in town. 14% of West Haven residents live below the poverty line, above both Connecticut’s towns (5.8%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). The median household income in West Haven is $74,000.
| West Haven | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.2% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
9.9 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. At 0.9 miles per square mile, West Haven’s trail density is against 1.3 in Connecticut’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Maltby Lakes, at 251 acres with 4.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| West Haven | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maltby Lakes | 4.4 mi | 251 |
| 2. West River Memorial Park | 0.8 mi | 50 |
| 3. Old Grive Park | 0.5 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
West Haven has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 23° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
51% of households own their home in West Haven. Typical home values rose 7.8% in the year to September 2026.
| West Haven | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 81% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 50% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,442 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its B tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Milford (C+) comes closest. At 16.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 56% of Connecticut’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
392 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 66 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 392 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Haven.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Connecticut it is less healthy than 89% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar.
West Haven beats the Connecticut average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 37% of West Haven adults feel lonely. Only 9 of the 154 Connecticut towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than West Haven.
| West Haven | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 31% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 8.8% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 22% | 25% |
| What stands out | West Haven | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7% | 8.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.5% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
8 within 15 miles of the center of West Haven
About 14 of every 100 West Haven residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
5 places in West Haven on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in West Haven.
City in Connecticut, United States
West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with West Haven.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Haven | #132 | C− | D− | B | C− | B− |
| Milford | — | — | C− | C+ | — | — |
| New Haven | #148 | D− | D− | D | D | C+ |
| Orange | #91 | B | D | C− | A | A+ |
| Woodmont | — | — | D− | — | B− | A |
Woodmont has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Woodmont reports no FBI crime data of its own. Milford isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Haven with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Haven grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #132 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades B− for health, B for safety and C− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
20 notable people were born here, including Jamey Jasta and Kevin Heffernan.
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