Rating the Towns 2012: 3,500-6,500

Look at a map of Connecticut and you’ll see that Marlborough, geographically speaking, looks like the Florida of Hartford County—a peninsula extending out to the southeast, surrounded on three sides not by salt water, but by Middlesex, New London and Tolland counties. Whatever its shape or location, Marlborough’s leap from No. 16 two years ago to No. 1 this time is remarkable. The town enjoyed improvements in all categories except Education, but even that remains solid.

As for No. 2 Harwinton, it rose from No. 11 last time around without extreme highs or lows in any category, but decent-to-good numbers across the board. With moderate housing prices and above-average schools, it would seem to be a good place to raise a family.

The next two finishers—Washington and Sherman—offer a lot of what Litchfield County is good at: pastoral views, winding lanes, distant hills and a slight New York accent. Next in line, No. 5 Ashford, offers those things, too, at a deep discount, although the local accent tends to be more Rhode Island than New York.

Among the movers this time around are Connecticut River Valley cousins Chester and Deep River, both of which rode worsening crime numbers down from No. 1 to No. 7 (Chester) and No. 3 to No. 8 (Deep River). Conversely, Bolton and Pomfret showed great improvement in the Crime category and rose, with Bolton going from No. 19 to No. 6 and Pomfret from No. 17 to No. 11.

Click Here to see the stats for the Top 10 Towns.

Town	Education	Crime	Economy	Cost	Leisure	Total
1. Marlborough	7	9	13	9	4	42
2. Harwinton	9	13	6	6	10	44
3. Washington	14	7	2	24	1	48
4. Sherman	10	5	3	22	9	49
5. Ashford	13	2	22	1	11	49
6. Bolton	3	4	20	17	8	52
7. Chester	5	17	4	21	7	54
8. Deep River	6	12	8	18	12	56
9. East Granby	8	19	11	14	5	57
10. Bethany	1	10	9	20	17	57
11. Pomfret	15	1	15	8	18	57
12. Columbia	23	11	10	12	2	58
13. Bethlehem	18	3	5	19	13	58
14. Salem	2	6	17	15	19	59
15. Willington	11	15	12	10	15.5	63.5
16. Salisbury	16	20.5	1	23	6	66.5
17. Middlefield	12	18	18	16	3	67
18. Canterbury	21	8	21	2	24	76
19. Barkhamsted	4	20.5	19	13	20.5	77
20. North Stonington	17	22	7	11	20.5	77.5
21. Preston	19	23	16	4	15.5	77.5
22. Beacon Falls	22	16	23	7	14	82
23. Lisbon	20	24	14	3	23	84
24. Sterling	24	14	24	5	22	89

HOW TO READ THE CHART
The chart at right shows the 24 Connecticut towns with populations between 3,500 and 6,500. The best possible rating in any category is 1 and the worst is 24. Remember: Low scores are good. Ties were broken in favor of the town with the higher voter turnout.