Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wolcott grades A− overall, 46th among Connecticut's 151 graded towns. It reports less crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $111K and it is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $392K for a typical one and 4.5 times the Waterbury metro’s $86K median household income. Only 2 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score lower on the outdoors. 2.3% of the land in Wolcott is conserved, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 10 of Connecticut’s 175 towns score lower on history.
Where Wolcott beats most towns.
Census counts: 948 in 1800, a low of 491 in 1870, 16,142 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Wolcott is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for safety (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wolcott. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Theme parkLake Compounce
20 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
19 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
5 mi Theme parkHoly Land USA
21 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
26 mi LakeCandlewood LakeLake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Holy Land USA: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Candlewood Lake: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wolcott, 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 Wolcott.
Wolcott pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Connecticut norm, reports less crime than Cheshire or any other graded neighbor and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Connecticut.
Its A+ tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Cheshire (A) comes closest. Reported crimes rose from 42 to 74 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Wolcott’s property crime rate is 4.3 per 1,000 residents, below both Connecticut’s towns (9.7) and U.S. towns (9.9). Wolcott’s violent crime rate is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Wolcott | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.3 per 1,000 residents | 9.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Wolcott School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Wolcott High School, with 611 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyrrell Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 498 | B |
| Wolcott High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 611 | B |
| Frisbie SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 265 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests and graduation
Within Connecticut it is healthier than 55% of the 154 graded towns: Connecticut sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Connecticut is food insecurity: 8.3% of its 13,025 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.9% statewide.
13% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Wolcott. Wolcott beats the Connecticut average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.8% of adults have diabetes in Wolcott.
| Wolcott | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 9.4% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 9.7% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wolcott | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.3% | 14.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 10% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.8% of Wolcott residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Wolcott has added 270 jobs, to 2,760 in 2023. The average trip to work in Wolcott is 30 minutes.
| Wolcott | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 1.8% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $111,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
20 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Wolcott Recreation Area, at 266 acres with 3.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wolcott Recreation Area | 3.3 mi | 266 |
| 2. Peterson Park | 1.3 mi | 67 |
| 3. Russell Preserve | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wolcott has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 17° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Wolcott grades A− overall with a typical home of about $392K, below the Connecticut typical value; only 11 of the 43 Connecticut towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Wolcott home is worth about $392,000, up 2.9% in a year, 12% below the Connecticut typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Connecticut average. Wolcott has grown 2.8% since 2020, to 16,573 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 43% across Connecticut.
| Wolcott | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 44.4 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 19% | 22% |
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Wolcott | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.4% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.6% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wolcott.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Wolcott
About 5 of every 100 Wolcott residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Connecticut.
Where Wolcott’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Wolcott on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Wolcott.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Wolcott ( WUUL-kət) is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. It is primarily residential, with a population of 16,142 as of the 2020 United States census. The town was settled in the 1730s by English settlers of the Connecticut Colony and was known as Farmingbury. It was renamed as Wolcott after being incorporated in 1796, following the United States' gaining independence. Some early records spell it as Wolcutt.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Wolcott.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wolcott grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #46 of 151 in Connecticut. It grades A for health, A+ for safety and B− 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.
6 notable people were born here, including Amos Bronson Alcott and Anthony Fantano.
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