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Middlesex County, Connecticut facts for kids

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Middlesex County
County
Raymond E Baldwin Courthouse
Raymond E Baldwin Courthouse
Map of Connecticut highlighting Middlesex County
Location within the U.S. state of Connecticut
Map of the United States highlighting Connecticut
Connecticut's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Connecticut
Founded May, 1785
Named for Middlesex, England
Seat none (since 1960)
Middletown (before 1960)
Largest city Middletown
Area
 • Total 439 sq mi (1,140 km2)
 • Land 369 sq mi (960 km2)
 • Water 70 sq mi (200 km2)  15.9%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 164,245 Decrease
 • Density 370/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts 1st, 2nd, 3rd


Middlesex County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 164,245. The county was created in May 1785 from portions of Hartford County and New London County.

Middlesex County is included in the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown metropolitan statistical area known as Greater Hartford.

As with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is now no county government and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including local police, fire and rescue, snow removal, and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources, e.g. water, gas, etc. On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau formally recognized Connecticut's nine councils of governments as county equivalents instead of the state's eight counties. Connecticut's county governments were disbanded in 1960, and the councils of governments took over some of the local governmental functions. Connecticut's eight historical counties continue to exist in name only, and are no longer considered for statistical purposes.

Geography

The county has a total area of 439 square miles (1,140 km2), of which 369 square miles (960 km2) is land and 70 square miles (180 km2) (15.9%) is water. It is the smallest county in Connecticut by land area and second-smallest by total area.

The terrain trends from mostly level along the Connecticut River and Atlantic coast to gently rolling uplands away from them. The highest elevation is close to a triangulation station in Meshomasic State Forest, at 916 feet (279 m) above sea level; the lowest point is sea level.

Middlesex County is also the home of Wadsworth Falls.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas


Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1790 18,828 —
1800 19,874 5.6%
1810 20,723 4.3%
1820 22,405 8.1%
1830 24,844 10.9%
1840 24,879 0.1%
1850 27,216 9.4%
1860 30,859 13.4%
1870 36,099 17.0%
1880 35,589 −1.4%
1890 39,524 11.1%
1900 41,760 5.7%
1910 45,637 9.3%
1920 47,550 4.2%
1930 51,388 8.1%
1940 55,999 9.0%
1950 67,332 20.2%
1960 88,865 32.0%
1970 114,816 29.2%
1980 129,017 12.4%
1990 143,196 11.0%
2000 155,071 8.3%
2010 165,676 6.8%
2020 164,245 −0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010–2018

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 165,676 people, 67,202 households, and 43,743 families living in the county. The population density was 448.6 inhabitants per square mile (173.2/km2). There were 74,837 housing units at an average density of 202.6 per square mile (78.2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 89.2% white, 4.7% black or African American, 2.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.3% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.6% were Italian, 21.2% were Irish, 14.0% were English, 13.5% were German, 11.1% were Polish, and 3.4% were American.

Of the 67,202 households, 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.9% were non-families, and 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 43.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $74,906 and the median income for a family was $91,589. Males had a median income of $62,031 versus $50,031 for females. The per capita income for the county was $37,519. About 3.0% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income

Data is from the 2010 United States Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Rank Town Per capita
income		 Median
household
income		 Median
family
income		 Population Number of
households
1 Fenwick Borough $110,127 $114,375 $250,000+ 43 26
2 Essex Town $57,365 $87,480 $105,982 6,683 2,916
3 Killingworth Town $45,404 $99,500 $108,232 6,525 2,474
4 Old Saybrook Town $43,400 $79,985 $99,595 10,242 4,247
5 Cromwell Town $41,926 $82,012 $99,362 14,005 5,752
6 Chester Town $40,783 $80,185 $89,760 3,994 1,714
7 Durham Town $39,579 $105,417 $110,583 7,388 2,610
8 Portland Town $39,100 $86,661 $96,016 9,508 3,822
9 Westbrook Town $38,158 $61,069 $72,969 6,938 2,948
10 Haddam Town $37,324 $86,179 $100,343 8,346 3,218
11 East Haddam Town $37,156 $82,695 $86,023 9,126 3,593
12 Clinton Town $37,117 $74,174 $82,839 13,260 5,303
13 Middlefield Town $36,747 $80,392 $94,432 4,425 1,742
14 Deep River Town $35,564 $65,250 $81,641 4,629 1,940
15 East Hampton Town $34,555 $88,281 $95,854 12,959 5,060
16 Middletown City $31,348 $57,655 $78,006 47,648 19,863

Race

Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, "Race alone or in combination with one or more other races."

Rank Town Population White Black Asian American
Indian		 Other Hispanic
1 Middletown City 47,510 79.2% 15.7% 4.9% 0.6% 3.2% 8.1%
2 Cromwell Town 13,951 93.2% 3.9% 3.3% 0.3% 0.5% 4.2%
3 Clinton Town 13,291 95.8% 0.5% 2.1% 0.2% 1.8% 3.5%
4 East Hampton Town 12,926 95.4% 1.6% 1.7% 0.3% 1.9% 3.8%
5 Old Saybrook Town 10,307 97.8% 0.7% 1.8% 0.6% 0.0% 0.4%
6 Portland Town 9,470 96.2% 2.2% 1.0% 0.2% 1.9% 4.4%
7 East Haddam Town 9,069 99.3% 1.2% 0.0% 0.2% 0.7% 0.9%
8 Haddam Town 8,267 98.5% 1.5% 0.5% 1.5% 0.2% 2.6%
9 Durham Town 7,342 94.7% 0.5% 3.1% 0.2% 3.2% 5.3%
10 Westbrook Town 6,891 95.4% 0.5% 4.0% 1.2% 0.0% 4.5%
11 Essex Town 6,697 98.8% 0.6% 1.4% 0.1% 0.1% 0.6%
12 Killingworth Town 6,499 96.7% 0.0% 7.5% 1.4% 0.7% 3.0%
13 Deep River Town 4,652 88.7% 2.0% 0.3% 0.8% 7.5% 8.6%
14 Middlefield Town 4,418 94.3% 1.7% 4.2% 0.0% 0.7% 1.5%
15 Chester Town 3,984 98.3% 0.4% 1.7% 0.7% 0.0% 2.6%
16 Fenwick Borough 51 100.0% 5.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Communities

Map of Middlesex County Connecticut With Municipal Labels
Map of Middlesex County, Connecticut showing cities, boroughs, towns, and CDPs

City

Towns

Villages are named localities within towns, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Middlesex (Connecticut) para niños

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