Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Connecticut

Brookfield, Connecticut

Brookfield is a suburb of about 18,600 people in Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, in the Danbury area. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Bridgeport, is about 22 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Danbury

Population
18,566
up 6.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$479,700
Western Connecticut Planning Region prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$148,360
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Bridgeport area
106.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Danbury, CT
To Bridgeport
22 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.9% above the U.S. average in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byDanbury Hospital in Danbury, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBridgeport is about 22 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Brookfield meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Brookfield runs into the built-up area around Danbury (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$479,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Western Connecticut Planning Region, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,892 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$148,360U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$7,594 a yearConnecticut: $6,643
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
106.9U.S. average = 100 (the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury metro area, not Brookfield alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
18,5662020: 17,460
Median age
44.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
58%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); professional and business services (15%); manufacturing (15%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Danbury Hospital, Danbury, CT, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Brookfield, run by Brookfield School District and Danbury School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Connecticut's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
88%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
20°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
20 a year
Nights at or below freezing
126 a year
Rain and melted snow
53 inches a year
Snow
49 inches a year
Elevation
405 feet

Weather station: Danbury (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Danbury Hospital, Danbury, Bridgeport.

Western Connecticut Planning Region is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail13 miles
  • Weir Farm National Historical Park14 miles
  • Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site32 miles
  • Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site33 miles
  • Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site36 miles

Read about Brookfield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Brookfield?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Brewster Hill, NY (unincorporated)2,149 people, 11 miles
  • Peach Lake, NY (unincorporated)1,038 people, 12 miles
  • Brewster Heights, NY (unincorporated)1,196 people, 13 miles
  • Wingdale, NY (unincorporated)1,234 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.