Date: Fri 06-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Connecticut-Magazine-survey

Full Text:

Newtown Ranks In Top Ten Of Magazine Comparative Survey

Newtown is one among the top ten best places to live in Connecticut among

towns of 20,000 to 50,000 population, according to the annual survey done by

Connecticut magazine.

Newtown actually tied with South Windsor for the tenth spot. Simsbury was

rated best, followed by Ridgefield, Mansfield, Farmington, Glastonbury,

Guilford, Westport, Wethersfield, and Cheshire.

The survey rated 32 towns in that population range on several criteria: crime,

education, cost of living, the strength of the local economy, and

leisure/culture. The towns were ranked from 1 to 32, with 1 being the best.

Newtown ranked second in strength of the local economy, topped only by

Ridgefield. The rating was determined by several factors: the local

unemployment rate, the number of permits for new home construction between

January 1995 and June 1996, and the welfare caseload per 1,000 residents.

Newtown was sixth in two categories: crime and education. Crime was based on

the number of incidents of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault,

burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft committed in 1993, 1994, and 1995

per 1,000 population.

The education category combined six elements: the percentage of local public

high school graduates from the Class of 1995 who went on to college; the

1993-1995 Mastery Test results for fourth, sixth and eight graders in math,

reading and writing; the percentage of teachers with masters degrees; the

ratio of students per computer; the percentage of students passing a standard

physical fitness test, and the results of the 1995 Connecticut Academic

Performance Test for high school sophomores.

Newtown was judged to be among the most expensive places to live. The town

tied with Cheshire and Trumbull for the 28th spot in cost of living, a

category which was based on the cost of buying property and the level of local

taxes. The rating system combined the median selling prices of homes between

January 1995 and July 1996, and the local real estate and automobile tax

burden based on a typical resident's ability to pay. Only three other towns -

Westport, Ridgefield, and Simsbury - were judged more expensive.

The town also ranked 28th in leisure/culture. To determine the ranking in this

category, emphasis was placed on the local library budget per capita and the

number of items checked out of the library per capital. Also included in this

category were the number of local theaters, museums, festivals, concerts,

historic sites, performing arts groups, arts grants awarded during the past

two years, local newspapers, state parks and forests, and good local

restaurants (as evaluated by Connecticut magazine's "Dining Out Directory").

In towns of 10,000 to 20,000 population, the winner was Southbury, followed by

Wilton, New Canaan, Avon and East Lyme. Cities of 50,000 and above were topped

by Greenwich, followed by Fairfield, West Hartford, Bristol and Manchester.

Connecticut magazine publishes its survey every other year. In 1994, Newtown

was ranked eighth. That year it ranked second in strength of the economy,

fifth in crime, was 12th in education, tied with Newington for the 19th spot

in leisure/culture, and ranked 26 out of the 32 towns in cost of living.