Website Ranks North Haven The No. 9 Best Spot in Connecticut to Raise a Family

By David Gurliacci and Paul Petrone

North Haven ranked number nine in Connecticut in a comparison of towns for "the best towns in Connecticut for raising families," according to a data-crunching consumer website, NerdWallet.

"While many couples are ready to start a family, these future parents must consider several factors when choosing the right place to settle down," NerdWallet publicist Laura Zulliger wrote in an email.

By looking at school standardized test scores, real estate and income information, the website produced a list of 10 "best towns for young families" with Orange ranking first, Trumbull second and then the following towns, in order (for a table comparing various factors, go to this NerdWallet Web page):

1. Orange
2. Trumbull
3. Newington
4. West Hartford
5. Wethersfield
6. Darien
7. Milford
8. Wallingford Center
9. North Haven
10. Westport

NerdWallet's take on North Haven:

"North Haven is in New Haven County, just 10 minutes from New Haven and Yale University. The Greater New Haven area prides itself on having a diverse mix of urban, suburban and rural communities as well as being close to the natural beauty of the nearby Long Island Sound. Top employers in the town of North Haven include Covidien – the medical-device design and manufacturing firm – and Quinnipiac University, a private university in Hamden."

These factors were used to rank the towns:

1. "Does the town have good public schools?" Ratings from GreatSchools website were used to measure school systems by comparing standardized test scores. School districts were put on a 1-to-10 scale, with 10 the highest rating. Darien received a 10, as did Westport.
2. "Can you afford to live there?" The website compared median home values in each town (with Darien and Westport each reported as having over $1 million) and ongoing monthly home costs ($4,000-plus for each town), " including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance costs, utilities, fuel and other bills. Lower costs led to a higher overall score."
3. "Is the town growing and prospering?" The measure used for that was each town's average household income and income growth over the last decade.

San Fransisco-based NerdWallet describes itself as a "consumer advocacy website" (although it's not a nonprofit and contains advertising) that uses "data-driven tools and impartial info to help you make solid decisions about the money you work hard to earn."