Connecticut Housing Increasing Faster Than Population
The 2020 Census redistricting data release shows an overall population growth in Connecticut of just under 1%, from 3,574,097 in 2010 to 3,605,944 in 2020. The increase in housing units during this time was three times as high as the population increase (at nearly 3%), from 1,487,891 units in 2010 to 1,530,197 in 2020. The percentage of housing units that were occupied in 2020 was 93%, similar to 92% in 2010. Do towns with an increase in housing also experience an increase in population? We explore this question and more in this post.
Town-Level Analysis
Of the 169 towns in Connecticut, only 69 (41%) experienced an increase in population while 124 (74%) experienced an increase in housing. One hundred (59%) towns experienced a change in population and housing in the same direction (for example, an increase in population and an increase in housing), while 69 (41%) of towns experienced a change in the opposite direction (for example, a decrease in population and an increase in housing).
Salisbury, Stamford, and Cornwall experienced the largest increases in population, while Canaan, Somers, and Hartland experienced the largest decreases. Mansfield, Stamford, and Simsbury experienced the largest increases in housing, while Canaan, Chester, and Morris experienced the largest decreases. The maps below show this data visually, with blue representing an increase and red representing a decrease.
As mentioned previously, 41% of towns experienced a change in population and housing in the opposite direction. These towns are represented in the quadrants where Salisbury and Mansfield are highlighted in the visualization below. The other 59% of towns are represented in the quadrants where Stamford and Canaan are highlighted—these are “what we would expect” to see.
Stamford experienced the largest growth in both population (10%) and housing (13%) overall, while Canaan experienced the opposite, with a decrease in population of 12% and a decrease in housing of 18%. Salisbury represents a town where the population greatly increased (12%) while housing decreased (3%), while Mansfield represents the opposite—the population decreased by 2% while housing greatly increased by 16%. Mansfield’s numbers may be partially explained by the impact of Covid on students living at UConn Storrs, many of whom moved home for their virtual courses. Explore how your town changed by using the search function in the table below.
On the town level, Pearson’s r = 0.53, indicating a moderate correlation between population change and housing change using a significance level of α = 0.05. Note that Pearson’s r does not imply the directionality of a relationship.
County-Level Analysis
Of the eight counties in Connecticut, only three experienced an increase in population while all eight experienced an increase in housing.
Of the three counties that experienced population increases, Fairfield County experienced the largest increase of 4.4%, followed by slight increases of 0.6% and 0.3% in Hartford County and New Haven County, respectively. The largest increases in housing were experienced by Tolland County (5.0%), Fairfield County (4.8%), and Hartford County (3.0%). The maps below show this data visually, with blue representing an increase and red representing a decrease.
Fairfield County experienced the largest growth in both population (4%) and housing (5%) overall, while Litchfield County experienced a 2% decrease in population and a slight increase in housing. Tolland County experienced the largest growth in housing of 5%, but a decline in population of 2%.
On the county level, no statistically significant correlation between population change and county change is observed using a significance level of α = 0.05.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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