Is being in an area of Connecticut that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Bridgeport and Stamford, while others want peace and quiet like in Terryville and Pawcatuck, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Connecticut have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Constitution State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
Connecticut lost a net 5,945 people to other states in the year ending July 2025 — 42nd in the nation for domestic migration; the full moving statistics breakdown shows who’s coming and going.
29.6% growth since 2010 · 2,605 net new residents
Located in
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Bethel is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, about 69 miles from New York City. Its population was 18,584 at the 2010 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place. The core area of the town center has also been designated as a historic district.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
27.2% growth since 2010 · 1,751 net new residents
Located in
Litchfield County, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is in Northwestern Connecticut, United States.14 miles north of Danbury, on the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly 62 square miles. The population was 28,671 according to the Census Bureau’s 2006 estimates. The town center is also listed as a census-designated place. The northern portion of the town is situated in the region considered Northwestern CT and the far eastern portions are part of the Litchfield Hills region.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
25.6% growth since 2010 · 1,226 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
23.2% growth since 2010 · 1,420 net new residents
Located in
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It is located at 41.033 north, 73.6 west, on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,770 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
22.9% growth since 2010 · 6,842 net new residents
Located in
Hartford County, Connecticut
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 58,241. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 30,577 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.9% growth since 2010 · 845 net new residents
Cheshire, formerly known as New Cheshire Parish, is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Cheshire was 29,261. The center of population of Connecticut is located in Cheshire.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.7% growth since 2010 · 1,201 net new residents
Located in
Hartford County, Connecticut
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.4% growth since 2010 · 16,237 net new residents
Located in
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643. As of July 1, 2014, according to the Census Bureau, the population of Stamford had risen to 128,278, making it the third-largest city in the state and the seventh-largest city in New England. Approximately 30 miles from Manhattan, Stamford is in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk Metro area which is a part of the Greater New York metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.5% growth since 2010 · 1,521 net new residents
Located in
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. The largest town on Connecticut’s Gold Coast, it is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut as well as the six-state region of New England. It takes roughly 40-50 minutes by train from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Greenwich 12th on its list of the “100 Best Places to Live in the United States” in 2005. The town is named after Greenwich, a borough of London in the United Kingdom.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.9% growth since 2010 · 7,892 net new residents
Located in
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located along the Still River approximately 70 miles northeast of New York’s city center. Danbury’s population at the 2010 census was 80,893. Danbury is the fourth most populous city in Fairfield County, and seventh among Connecticut cities. The city is within the New York combined statistical area and Bridgeport metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Connecticut’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Connecticut’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Constitution State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 56 Connecticut cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Constitution State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Connecticut.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Connecticut For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bethel | 11,404 | 8,799 | 29.6% | 2,605 |
| 2 | New Milford | 8,188 | 6,437 | 27.2% | 1,751 |
| 3 | Hazardville | 6,022 | 4,796 | 25.6% | 1,226 |
| 4 | Cos Cob | 7,546 | 6,126 | 23.2% | 1,420 |
| 5 | Manchester | 36,759 | 29,917 | 22.9% | 6,842 |
| 6 | Cheshire Village | 6,172 | 5,327 | 15.9% | 845 |
| 7 | Kensington | 9,962 | 8,761 | 13.7% | 1,201 |
| 8 | Stamford | 137,144 | 120,907 | 13.4% | 16,237 |
| 9 | Greenwich | 14,792 | 13,271 | 11.5% | 1,521 |
| 10 | Danbury | 87,263 | 79,371 | 9.9% | 7,892 |
| 11 | Norwalk | 92,187 | 84,611 | 9.0% | 7,576 |
| 12 | Storrs | 15,207 | 14,134 | 7.6% | 1,073 |
| 13 | Shelton | 41,889 | 39,061 | 7.2% | 2,828 |
| 14 | Riverside | 8,954 | 8,413 | 6.4% | 541 |
| 15 | Terryville | 5,461 | 5,133 | 6.4% | 328 |
| 16 | Old Greenwich | 6,936 | 6,568 | 5.6% | 368 |
| 17 | Bridgeport | 149,153 | 142,576 | 4.6% | 6,577 |
| 18 | Waterbury | 114,869 | 109,941 | 4.5% | 4,928 |
| 19 | New Haven | 134,349 | 128,885 | 4.2% | 5,464 |
| 20 | Orange | 14,315 | 13,831 | 3.5% | 484 |
| 21 | Willimantic | 18,096 | 17,485 | 3.5% | 611 |
| 22 | Simsbury Center | 6,198 | 6,006 | 3.2% | 192 |
| 23 | Southwood Acres | 8,115 | 7,872 | 3.1% | 243 |
| 24 | Glastonbury Center | 7,266 | 7,054 | 3.0% | 212 |
| 25 | Wethersfield | 27,250 | 26,613 | 2.4% | 637 |
| 26 | Newington | 30,896 | 30,361 | 1.8% | 535 |
| 27 | New Britain | 74,223 | 72,954 | 1.7% | 1,269 |
| 28 | North Haven | 24,336 | 23,927 | 1.7% | 409 |
| 29 | Bristol | 61,462 | 60,466 | 1.6% | 996 |
| 30 | Wallingford Center | 18,208 | 17,947 | 1.5% | 261 |
| 31 | Windsor Locks | 12,579 | 12,419 | 1.3% | 160 |
| 32 | Middletown | 47,958 | 47,349 | 1.3% | 609 |
| 33 | West Hartford | 63,620 | 62,898 | 1.1% | 722 |
| 34 | Sherwood Manor | 5,706 | 5,655 | 0.9% | 51 |
| 35 | West Haven | 55,351 | 55,070 | 0.5% | 281 |
| 36 | New London | 27,625 | 27,496 | 0.5% | 129 |
| 37 | Norwich | 39,973 | 39,843 | 0.3% | 130 |
| 38 | Naugatuck | 31,800 | 31,746 | 0.2% | 54 |
| 39 | Meriden | 60,545 | 60,484 | 0.1% | 61 |
| 40 | Milford | 51,023 | 51,019 | 0.0% | 4 |
| 41 | Portland | 5,944 | 5,947 | -0.1% | -3 |
| 42 | East Hartford | 50,918 | 50,974 | -0.1% | -56 |
| 43 | Ansonia | 19,033 | 19,163 | -0.7% | -130 |
| 44 | Oakville | 9,276 | 9,381 | -1.1% | -105 |
| 45 | Branford Center | 6,305 | 6,442 | -2.1% | -137 |
| 46 | Torrington | 35,547 | 36,423 | -2.4% | -876 |
| 47 | Derby | 12,487 | 12,826 | -2.6% | -339 |
| 48 | Hartford | 121,127 | 124,760 | -2.9% | -3,633 |
| 49 | Pawcatuck | 5,577 | 5,802 | -3.9% | -225 |
| 50 | East Haven | 27,806 | 29,074 | -4.4% | -1,268 |
| 51 | Winsted | 6,977 | 7,318 | -4.7% | -341 |
| 52 | Putnam | 7,120 | 7,505 | -5.1% | -385 |
| 53 | Groton | 9,490 | 10,225 | -7.2% | -735 |
| 54 | Rockville | 7,072 | 7,706 | -8.2% | -634 |
| 55 | Ridgefield | 6,970 | 7,721 | -9.7% | -751 |
| 56 | Thompsonville | 7,927 | 8,838 | -10.3% | -911 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 56 Connecticut cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Connecticut, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Connecticut are led by Bethel which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Connecticut are Bethel, New Milford, Hazardville, Cos Cob, Manchester, Cheshire Village, Kensington, Stamford, Greenwich, and Danbury.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know! Not sold on Connecticut? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Fastest Growing Cities In Connecticut FAQs
What is the fastest-growing city in Connecticut?
Bethel is the fastest-growing city in Connecticut for 2026, based on population change since 2010. New Milford and Hazardville are growing nearly as fast.
What are the top 10 fastest-growing cities in Connecticut?
The fastest-growing cities in Connecticut are Bethel, New Milford, Hazardville, Cos Cob, Manchester, Cheshire Village, Kensington, Stamford, Greenwich, and Danbury. We ranked all 56 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
How do you measure growth?
Growth is the percent change in population from the 2010 Census to the latest American Community Survey estimates. No projections, no vibes — just how many more people actually live there now.
What is the slowest-growing city on the list?
Thompsonville posts the smallest population change of the 56 Connecticut cities we ranked. Slow growth is not automatically bad news, but the momentum is clearly elsewhere.
Do small towns count in this ranking?
Only places with more than 5,000 residents qualify, which keeps one new subdivision from turning a tiny town into a statistical rocket. 56 Connecticut cities cleared that bar this year.
