The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in Connecticut

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 132 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Connecticut. #1 is Sharon, CT.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in Connecticut1. Sharon100th pct2. Kent99th pct3. Heritage Village98th pct4. Mystic98th pct5. Essex Village97th pct6. Sherman96th pct7. Woodbury95th pct8. Salisbury95th pct9. Deep River93rd pct10. Deep River Center93rd pct11. Niantic92nd pct12. West Simsbury92nd pct13. Westbrook91st pct14. Old Lyme90th pct15. Washington90th pct16. Goshen90th pct17. Collinsville89th pct18. Essex88th pct19. Chester88th pct20. Beacon Falls87th pct21. Barkhamsted87th pct22. Redding86th pct23. Litchfield86th pct24. Killingworth85th pct25. Bethlehem85th pct
  1. 25Bethlehem, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 85% of Connecticut towns

    3,385 people · median home $410,900 · income $108,929 · Jan low 15°F · 47 in snow

  2. 24Killingworth, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 85% of Connecticut towns

    6,174 people · median home $446,200 · income $140,655 · Jan low 19°F

  3. 23Litchfield, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 86% of Connecticut towns

    8,192 people · median home $391,900 · income $102,609 · Jan low 15°F · 54 in snow

  4. 22Redding, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 86% of Connecticut towns

    8,765 people · median home $706,300 · income $186,060 · Jan low 18°F · 49 in snow

  5. 21Barkhamsted, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 87% of Connecticut towns

    3,647 people · median home $368,000 · income $123,544 · Jan low 14°F · 51 in snow

  6. 20Beacon Falls, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 87% of Connecticut towns

    6,000 people · median home $350,300 · income $101,516 · Jan low 18°F · 45 in snow

  7. 19Chester, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 88% of Connecticut towns

    3,749 people · median home $442,200 · income $109,191 · Jan low 19°F · 26 in snow

  8. 18Essex, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 88% of Connecticut towns

    6,733 people · median home $552,000 · income $104,395 · Jan low 23°F · 26 in snow

  9. 17Collinsville, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 89% of Connecticut towns

    3,721 people · median home $395,500 · income $94,815 · Jan low 17°F · 39 in snow

  10. 16Goshen, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 90% of Connecticut towns

    3,150 people · median home $482,400 · income $152,093 · Jan low 14°F · 75 in snow

  11. 15Washington, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 90% of Connecticut towns

    3,646 people · median home $660,200 · income $101,549 · Jan low 21°F · 47 in snow

  12. 14Old Lyme, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 90% of Connecticut towns

    7,628 people · median home $484,200 · income $131,899 · Jan low 23°F · 26 in snow

  13. 13Westbrook, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 91% of Connecticut towns

    6,769 people · median home $434,300 · income $91,202 · Jan low 23°F · 25 in snow

  14. 12West Simsbury, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 92% of Connecticut towns

    2,521 people · median home $503,100 · income $201,397 · Jan low 14°F · 51 in snow

  15. 11Niantic, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 92% of Connecticut towns

    3,194 people · median home $396,000 · income $81,250 · Jan low 23°F · 25 in snow

  16. 10Deep River Center, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 93% of Connecticut towns

    2,765 people · median home $334,600 · income $71,447 · Jan low 23°F · 26 in snow

  17. 9Deep River, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 93% of Connecticut towns

    4,415 people · median home $362,200 · income $90,253 · Jan low 19°F · 26 in snow

  18. 8Salisbury, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 95% of Connecticut towns

    4,194 people · median home $763,700 · income $124,256 · Jan low 14°F · 62 in snow

  19. 7Woodbury, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 95% of Connecticut towns

    9,723 people · median home $469,900 · income $131,480 · Jan low 21°F · 47 in snow

  20. 6Sherman, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 96% of Connecticut towns

    3,527 people · median home $497,300 · income $116,000 · Jan low 16°F · 52 in snow

  21. 5Essex Village, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 97% of Connecticut towns

    2,583 people · median home $751,900 · income $102,885 · Jan low 23°F · 26 in snow

  22. 4Mystic, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 98% of Connecticut towns

    4,348 people · median home $538,800 · income $152,559 · Jan low 24°F · 25 in snow

  23. 3Heritage Village, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 98% of Connecticut towns

    5,091 people · median home $243,100 · income $62,059 · Jan low 21°F · 47 in snow

  24. 2Kent, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 99% of Connecticut towns

    3,019 people · median home $470,900 · income $96,064 · Jan low 16°F · 56 in snow

  25. 1Sharon, Connecticut

    Better for retirees than 100% of Connecticut towns

    2,680 people · median home $590,700 · income $100,518 · Jan low 14°F · 62 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Connecticut towns0255075100$176K$571K$966K$1361K$1756KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Connecticut.

More Connecticut rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 132 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Connecticut (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: