Hartford composite
42.4 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Hartford vs New Haven
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT and New Haven, CT side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 42.4
- Hartford Life Score
- C
- Hartford grade
- 43.6
- New Haven Life Score
- C
- New Haven grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Hartford scores higher on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, safety, childcare) and New Haven on 2 (schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Hartford vs New Haven across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Hartford New Haven ◗
cost of living
12
8
wages
94
94
rent
12
9
safety
91
90
schools
9
10
childcare
10
10
environment
38
64
Hartford and New Haven differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Hartford has a cost-of-living index of 102.7 vs New Haven's 104.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $77,770 in Hartford and $78,194 in New Haven. A 2-bedroom averages $1,865/mo vs $1,969/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Hartford vs New Haven Comparison
Hartford (CT) and New Haven (CT) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 102.7 for Hartford against 104.6 for New Haven, a 1.8-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,865/mo in Hartford and $1,969/mo in New Haven, a $104/mo difference that compounds to $1,248 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $77,770 across 587,310 jobs in Hartford against $78,194 across 261,300 jobs in New Haven. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Hartford carries the same local purchasing power as $101,765 in New Haven - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 139.0 per 100,000 residents in CT vs 139.0 in CT, with property-crime rates of 1396.7 and 1396.7 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: CT lists 1,005 public schools at a 12.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while CT lists 1,005 schools at 12.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $17,127/yr in the Hartford area versus $17,127/yr in New Haven - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Hartford and New Haven are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
New Haven composite
43.6 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-1.8 pts
Hartford vs New Haven BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$104 /mo
New Haven priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Hartford
Hartford composite (Grade C)
New Haven
New Haven composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Hartford | New Haven |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 102.7 | 104.6 |
| Goods | 97.3 | 97.3 |
| Services | 144.9 | 144.8 |
| Rents | 110.2 | 124.3 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in New Haven gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Hartford?
$
Equivalent in New Haven:
$101,765
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Hartford: 102.7, New Haven: 104.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Hartford | New Haven |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,286/mo | $1,372/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,477/mo | $1,591/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,865/mo | $1,969/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,236/mo | $2,433/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,537/mo | $2,872/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Hartford | New Haven |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $77,770 | $78,194 |
| Total Employment | 587,310 | 261,300 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Hartford (CT) | New Haven (CT) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 139.0 | 139.0 |
| Property Crime | 1396.7 | 1396.7 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | CT | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,005 | 1,005 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 12.1:1 | 12.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 2.1% | 2.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | CT | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $17,127/yr | $17,127/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $17,127/yr | $17,127/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $13,559/yr | $13,559/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | CT | CT |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 306 | 306 |
| Water Systems | 503 | 503 |
| Superfund Sites | 17 | 17 |
| Water Violations | 749 | 749 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Hartford | New Haven |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 40.0 | 41.0 |
| Good Air Days | 75.4% | 71.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 9 days | 12 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | CT | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 8/100 | 8/100 |
| Total Violations | 206,662 | 206,662 |
| Health-Based Violations | 21,779 | 21,779 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.0% | 94.0% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | CT | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 105 | 105 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | CT | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 13/100 | 13/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 87.6 | 87.6 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 90.0 | 90.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hartford more expensive than New Haven? ▼
Hartford has a cost of living index of 102.7 compared to New Haven's 104.6 (national average = 100). New Haven is 1.8 points above Hartford on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Hartford and New Haven? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,865/mo in Hartford vs $1,969/mo in New Haven, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,286/mo to $1,372/mo.
How do salaries compare between Hartford and New Haven? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $77,770 in Hartford and $78,194 in New Haven, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Hartford has the same purchasing power as $101,765 in New Haven.
Is Hartford or New Haven safer? ▼
At the state level, CT has a violent crime rate of 139.0 per 100,000 residents compared to CT's 139.0 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1396.7 vs 1396.7 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Hartford and New Haven? ▼
CT has 1,005 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.1:1, while CT has 1,005 schools at 12.1:1. Charter schools make up 2.1% of CT schools vs 2.1% in CT. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial