Connecticut Mag Ranks Darien #2 Among Affluent Towns

Connecticut Magazine, in its annual ranking of the state's best towns to live in, has ranked Darien No. 2 among affluent communities, behind only Ridgefield.

Some other rich towns with high rankings are 3. New Canaan, 4. Wilton, 5. Greenwich and 6. Weston (there were four other towns on the list of those with median home sale prices of $300,000 and more).

"Interestingly [...] the most expensive towns didn't fall neatly into the top of our ratings," according to the magazine. "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."

For more information on how Darien compares with other towns on its list, see the list online.

The magazine, which has been rating towns for "schools, crime, jobs, culture and economy" for years, this year broke down its lists into six different categories: One for cities and five more for towns with varying levels of home prices. Darien is No. 2 in the top-priced list.

[See update, below, for links to Patch articles about other rankings comparing Darien and with towns.]

"This year, we’ve stopped comparing Darien and New Canaan to Ansonia and Seymour, and are instead comparing them to more similar towns such as Fairfield and Westport," according to the online description of the lists on Connnecticut Magazine's website.

Here are the No. 1 towns in each of the other categories:

• Cities: Stamford (Norwalk ranked No. 2)

• Median Home Price: up to $225,000-$299,999 -- Simsbury

• Median Home Price: up to $175,000-$224,999 -- Barkhamsted and Union (a tie)

• Median Home Price: up to $174,999 -- Colebrook

• Darien Said to Have 7th Richest ZIP Code in CT

• Darien High School Ranked Seventh Best in State

• How Darien & CT Stack up on Generosity: Low