Connecticut Magazine Ranks Ridgefield as #1 Town in State

Connecticut Magazine sifted through all the data, and among the state's wealthiest towns, Ridgefield tops the list.

To quote Connecticut Magazine directly, "Interestingly, though, the most expensive towns didn't fall neatly into the top of our ratings. Ridgefield, which has the eighth-highest median home value, edged out Darien and New Canaan for the No. 1 spot, thanks to the lowest crime rate and highest voter turnout in the group."

The magazine looked at good restaurants, tax rate, crime, income and a host of economic data before ranking the towns.

Rounding out the top 10 in order are, Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Greenwich, Weston, Westport, Essex, Washington and Madison. The 2013 ranking published in the November issue of Connecticut Magazine used a different method than it used in previous years. Instead of creating categories based on population, the magazine based it on median house prices.

Population ranking put Greenwich in the same category as Bridgeport, an odd grouping, and writers Ben Doody and Jennifer Swift explained in the article people probably look at house prices before looking at a town's population. 

"Of course it's an honor, but it isn't a surprise," said Marion Roth, director of the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce. "We have so much art, culture, business and we have the volunteers who support it. 

To create the various categories, the magazine separated towns by their median house prices, and Ridgefield fell into the group with a median price of $300,000 or higher. Ridgefield won that category.