More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Hartford to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Hartford are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Hartford ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Hartford area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Hartford proper, although Westfield certainly tries.
We examined the 10 biggest suburbs of Hartford to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Connecticut lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Hartford in terms of quality of life.
$51,886 median income · $276,344 median home price
Located in
New Haven County, Connecticut
We’ll get the ball rolling with Waterbury, the absolute worst place to live around Hartford according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Waterbury beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Hartford area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Waterbury.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,656 median income · $294,613 median home price
Welcome to Springfield. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 25.2 miles to Hartford. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $52,656 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
$58,613 median income · $298,511 median home price
Located in
Hartford County, Connecticut
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Hartford suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see New Britain on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Hartford suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$70,856 median income · $295,024 median home price
Located in
Litchfield County, Connecticut
If you live in Torrington, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Hartford suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 6th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Hartford. Remember, we looked at 10 cities for this study.
Torrington is about 23.6 miles to downtown.
Data | Movers
$71,253 median income · $315,833 median home price
Located in
New Haven County, Connecticut
Meriden has the distinction of being a Hartford suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Meriden has the 6th lowest home values in the metro Hartford area, where the median price is $315,833. The median income is $96,324.
Meriden has an unemployment rate of 8.0% which ranks 3rd worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$62,615 median income · $311,123 median home price
Chicopee has 55,295 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 17.3%.
$79,076 median income · $339,024 median home price
Located in
Hartford County, Connecticut
Ah, Bristol. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Hartford.
It’s the place with the 5th most out of work residents in the Hartford metro area (7.3%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$96,324 median income · $346,062 median home price
Located in
New Haven County, Connecticut
Naugatuck is a city about 27.1 miles from Hartford, but Hartford probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Naugatuck has the 4th most uninsured people, 10th worst incomes, and has the 8th highest unemployment rate (5.1%) in the entire Hartford metro area.
Homes only cost $346,062 for a reason. That’s cheap for Hartford standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,438 median income · $354,795 median home price
Located in
Middlesex County, Connecticut
If you absolutely have to live near Hartford, then Middletown might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Hartford suburb.
About 4.7% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$87,753 median income · $378,738 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Hartford suburbs to call home is Westfield.
Located 26.0 miles outside the city, Westfield is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 10th highest unemployment rate (3.0%), and poverty is far above the area average.
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Connecticut’s statewide median.
Connecticut statewide median: $95,781
Connecticut statewide median: $436,407
Connecticut statewide median: 5.6%
Connecticut statewide median: 10.0%
On the map
Where the worst Hartford suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Hartford for 2026
To figure out how bad a Hartford suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Hartford.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 31,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 10 suburbs to evaluate around Hartford.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 10 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Hartford.” We’re looking at you, Waterbury.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Hartford.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Hartford Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterbury | 2.29 | 114,869 | $51,886 | $276,344 |
| 2 | Springfield | 3.43 | 154,749 | $52,656 | $294,613 |
| 3 | New Britain | 4.14 | 74,223 | $58,613 | $298,511 |
| 4 | Torrington | 4.29 | 35,547 | $70,856 | $295,024 |
| 5 | Meriden | 5.29 | 60,545 | $71,253 | $315,833 |
| 6 | Chicopee | 5.71 | 55,295 | $62,615 | $311,123 |
| 7 | Bristol | 6.79 | 61,462 | $79,076 | $339,024 |
| 8 | Naugatuck | 7.29 | 31,800 | $96,324 | $346,062 |
| 9 | Middletown | 7.64 | 47,958 | $79,438 | $354,795 |
| 10 | Westfield | 8.14 | 40,378 | $87,753 | $378,738 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 10 suburbs within 30 miles of Hartford.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Hartford where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Hartford with Waterbury casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Hartford are Waterbury, Springfield, New Britain, Torrington, Meriden, Chicopee, Bristol, Naugatuck, Middletown, and Westfield.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Hartford aren’t all bad. Westfield takes the cake as the best place to live around Hartford. Not sold on Connecticut? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Hartford FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Hartford?
Waterbury ranks as the worst suburb around Hartford for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Springfield and New Britain are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Hartford?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Hartford are Waterbury, Springfield, New Britain, Torrington, Meriden, Chicopee, Bristol, Naugatuck, Middletown, and Westfield. We scored all 10 places within 30 miles.
Why does Waterbury rank as the worst suburb?
Waterbury posts the roughest combined numbers of the 10 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $51,886, a median home value of $276,344, and a poverty rate of 24.7%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Hartford?
Westfield lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Hartford by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Hartford list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
