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Looking to spend a quiet retirement in the Constitution State? Don't move just anywhere until you've consulted our list of the best places to retire in Connecticut.
First things first, why is Connecticut a great place to retire? Well, CT has been featured in the top ten of our lists of overall best, safest, and best family states in the country. On the flip side, it's a tad expensive living in Connecticut, so make sure that 401k is looking strong before making any big decisions.
But you get what you pay for, because Connecticut has one of the most enviable autumns in the country. You'll be complaining about the leaf-peepers from New York like a local in no time. Connecticut's proximity to New York means the pizza is world-class. We guarantee that even if you think white clam pizza sounds gross at first, you'll be a convert after your first bite. And with Yale right in your backyard, you'll be close enough to hand-deliver care packages to your super-smart grandkids once they matriculate.
The best places to retire in Connecticut are, by and large, located in or around Hartford. More than half the cities on the list are within a half hour of the state's capital city, including West and East Hartford themselves. If you want to be as close as possible to Connecticut's biggest cities (New Haven and Bridgeport), then places like Shelton and Ansonia are your best bets for retirement.
Pack up your hiking boots, push the kayak into the Connecticut River, and relax, because we're visiting the best places to retire in Connecticut.
The 10 Best Places To Retire In Connecticut For 2023
Why did Windsor Locks take the top spot? And where are Bridgeport and Stamford?
Any one of the above cities is sure to provide you with a safe haven to enjoy the newfound freedom of retirement. As a matter of interest, both the overall best and the best family city in Connecticut are both also great places to retire.
Want to know what went on behind the scenes to come up with this list? We started by narrowing down the places we'd rank to only those with a population of or above 11,000 people, which gave us 32 cities to work with. Next, we used data from the Census, the FBI's Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights to see what each of the 32 cities were like in terms of crime, cost of living, weather, median age, and access to fun things to do. So what was the absolute best place to retire in Connecticut? According to the data, Windsor Locks is the #1 spot for folks looking to enjoy their retirement in 2023.
To see how each of the 32 cities of 11,000 people or more are for retirement, consult the full list below.
For more Connecticut state reading:
- Best Places To Live In Connecticut
- Cheapest Places To Live In Connecticut
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Connecticut
- Best Places To Retire In America
The 10 Best Places To Retire In Connecticut For 2023
/10
Population: 12,559
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Rent: $1,155
Distance to Closest Airport: 1 miles
More on Windsor Locks: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 35,447
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Rent: $1,010
Distance to Closest Airport: 24 miles
More on Torrington: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 27,162
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $1,071
Distance to Closest Airport: 16 miles
More on Wethersfield: Real Estate | Data
/10
Population: 18,150
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $928
Distance to Closest Airport: 28 miles
More on Willimantic: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 60,733
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Rent: $1,153
Distance to Closest Airport: 22 miles
More on Bristol: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 47,164
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Rent: $1,196
Distance to Closest Airport: 26 miles
More on Middletown: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 121,562
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Rent: $1,057
Distance to Closest Airport: 11 miles
More on Hartford: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 40,020
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $1,053
Distance to Closest Airport: 40 miles
More on Norwich: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 18,945
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Rent: $1,175
Distance to Closest Airport: 45 miles
More on Ansonia: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 64,034
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Rent: $1,443
Distance to Closest Airport: 12 miles
More on West Hartford: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Constitution State for 2023
To create our list of the best places in Connecticut to retire, we first used Census data to find all places in the Constitution State -- 142 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 11,000 people that weren't townships. This left us with 32 places from across the state.
For these 32, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI's Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criteria from one to 32, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Windsor Locks, with the lowest average rank was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second careers. You can download the data here.
Summary: Maybe You're Not Ready To Retire In Connecticut Yet...
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Connecticut goes to Windsor Locks.
If you're not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley:
- Bridgeport
- New Haven
- Milford
For more Connecticut reading, check out:
Where Are The Best Places To Retire In Connecticut?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Windsor Locks | 12,559 |
| 2 | Torrington | 35,447 |
| 3 | Wethersfield | 27,162 |
| 4 | Willimantic | 18,150 |
| 5 | Bristol | 60,733 |
| 6 | Middletown | 47,164 |
| 7 | Hartford | 121,562 |
| 8 | Norwich | 40,020 |
| 9 | Ansonia | 18,945 |
| 10 | West Hartford | 64,034 |
