Connecticut Towns With Top-Rated School Districts, by Budget

$2 million and up

Darien: Niche 2027 grade A+, fifth of 118 districts in Connecticut¹⁶. Two Metro-North stations. Darien guide.

Westport: Niche 2027 grade A+, first of 118 districts in Connecticut and 31st nationally¹¹. Beaches and an arts scene. Westport guide.

New Canaan: Niche 2027 grade TO VERIFY. Direct trains on the New Canaan Branch in the morning.

$1 million to $2 million

Ridgefield: Niche 2027 grade A+, 67th nationally¹⁷. Open space, and rail via Branchville or Katonah. Ridgefield guide.

Fairfield: Niche 2027 grade A+, 306th nationally¹². Three stations and town beaches. Fairfield guide.

$500,000 to $1 million

Glastonbury: Niche 2027 grade A+, first in the Hartford area and 146th nationally¹². Close to Hartford-area employers.

Simsbury: Niche 2027 grade A, fifth in the Hartford area and 332nd nationally¹². Farmington Valley trails.

Guilford and Madison: Niche 2027 grades TO VERIFY. Shoreline towns with Shore Line East stations. Guilford and Madison guide.

West Hartford: Niche 2027 grade TO VERIFY. U.S. News ranks West Hartford first in Connecticut for 2026 to 2027¹⁸, a ranking of places rather than schools. West Hartford guide.

Prices by town

Source: SmartMLS Local Market Update, December 2025: closed sales for the full year 2025, reported separately for single-family homes and condos or townhouses. These are sale medians, not values for a specific home. SmartMLS only partly covers Greenwich, where the Greenwich MLS is the main listing service.

What a Niche grade does and does not tell you

Niche grades combine several kinds of data, including test results, graduation and college data and survey responses from students and parents¹². A grade is a useful summary, but it averages an entire district into one letter.

It does not tell you how a particular elementary school compares with another in the same town, what programs a high school offers or how a school would suit your child. Two A+ districts can feel very different.

Rankings also change from year to year as methods and data change. That is why we cite the 2027 edition by name and why we leave grades we could not confirm as TO VERIFY rather than carrying forward an older figure.

The state’s own data

Connecticut publishes its own measures through EdSight, including the Next Generation Accountability results for each school and district¹³. The state’s system looks at more than test scores, including chronic absence, graduation rates and the progress students make over time.

In the 2024-25 district reports, New Canaan earned 88.7 percent of its available accountability points and Darien 87.2 percent¹². Madison earned 85.5, Ridgefield 85.0, Westport 84.4 and Guilford 83.2³⁴⁵⁶.

Glastonbury earned 82.3 percent, Simsbury 81.4, Fairfield 80.5 and West Hartford 79.3⁷⁸⁹¹⁰. New Canaan’s maximum was 1,350 points rather than the usual 1,450, because one indicator had too few students to count, so compare percentages rather than points.

The order differs from Niche’s: Westport is first in Connecticut on Niche but fifth of these ten on the state index. When you look up the reports yourself, compare the same year for every school and look at the specific schools your address would use.

The tax that pays for the schools

Connecticut public schools are funded largely through each town’s property tax, with state aid on top. That is one reason taxes and school quality are often discussed together. A town’s budget documents show how much goes to education.

Here is the yearly tax on the 2025 median single-family home in each town on this list, at FY2027 rates¹⁹:

• Madison: about $11,703 on $725,000²⁰.
• Guilford: about $12,920 on $649,900²¹.
• Simsbury: about $12,963 on $550,000²².
• Fairfield: about $14,407 on $1,072,500²³.
• Glastonbury: about $15,347 on $650,000²⁴.
• West Hartford: about $17,753 on $542,250²⁵.
• Westport: about $21,252 on $2,300,000²⁶.
• Ridgefield: about $21,837 on $1,100,000²⁷.
• Darien: about $26,964 on $2,400,000²⁸.
• New Canaan: about $30,880 on $2,600,000²⁹.

The spread is wide. Madison, Guilford and Simsbury combine moderate prices with moderate bills. West Hartford’s high rate gives it a larger bill than Fairfield’s on a home that costs half as much.

Condos in strong districts

A condo can be a lower-cost way into a district you like, though condo stock differs a lot by town. Here are the 2025 condo medians and the FY2027 tax on each¹⁹:

• Simsbury: $325,000, about $7,660 a year²².
• Glastonbury: $332,500, about $7,851²⁴.
• Ridgefield: $415,000, about $8,239²⁷.
• Fairfield: $635,000, about $8,530²³.
• Madison: $550,000, about $8,878²⁰.
• Guilford: $480,000, about $9,542²¹.
• West Hartford: $345,000, about $11,295²⁵.
• Darien: $1,080,000, about $12,134²⁸.
• Westport: $1,330,000, about $12,289²⁶.
• New Canaan: $1,370,000, about $16,271²⁹.

In the Fairfield County towns at the top of the list, condos are scarce and expensive. In the Hartford area and on the shoreline, they are a realistic option.

Schools and the commute together

For many households, the right town has to work for both the schools and the commute. The Fairfield County towns on this list have Metro-North service: Darien, Westport and Fairfield on the main line, New Canaan on its branch and Ridgefield via Branchville or Katonah³⁰. See the best towns for NYC commuters for times.

Glastonbury, Simsbury and West Hartford suit jobs in the Hartford area. Guilford and Madison have Shore Line East stations for trips to New Haven³¹. The Hartford, New Haven and Groton guide covers those job centers.

Visiting schools

Data is a starting point. A visit tells you how a school feels. Ask the district whether it offers tours for prospective residents and come with questions about class sizes, programs, support services and how new students are welcomed.

Talk to parents at a playground, a library event or a youth sports game. They will often tell you things no website will. Ask what they would change as well as what they like.

Questions to ask a district

Which schools serve this address and could that change? How are students placed when they join mid-year? What programs are offered for advanced learners and for students who need support? How does the district communicate with parents? What do students do after graduation?

The answers, together with the data, will tell you more than any grade. For pairs of towns compared on schools and more, see Westport vs Fairfield and Greenwich vs Darien.

How to check a district yourself

Look up the district and the specific schools on EdSight, confirm which schools serve the address (attendance zones can change), compare the same edition of any ranking and visit. Our guide on how to compare Connecticut school districts walks through it, and school choice in Connecticut covers magnet and technical schools.

Taxes

FY2027 mill rates vary widely among these towns¹⁹:

Source: CT Office of Policy and Management, Mill Rates (FY2014 to FY2027 data). FY2027 runs July 2026 to June 2027 and is based on the October 1, 2025 grand list. *An illustration, not a tax bill: $500,000 market value assessed at 70 percent, times the FY2027 real estate mill rate, before special district rates, exemptions or credits. A lower rate after a revaluation does not mean a lower bill.

Read Connecticut property taxes by town before setting a budget.

For the full budget picture, use the cost of moving calculator and the costs and money hub. When you have a shortlist, get matched with a licensed Connecticut agent who works in those towns.

Where to start by budget

If your budget is above $2 million, Darien, Westport and New Canaan are the obvious starting points in Fairfield County, each with Metro-North service. Compare the tax bills: at the medians, Westport’s is the lowest of the three.

If your budget is between $1 million and $2 million, Ridgefield and Fairfield are the main options on this list. Fairfield has more homes for sale and a main-line commute; Ridgefield has more open space and a longer trip to New York.

If your budget is under $1 million, the shoreline towns of Guilford and Madison and the Hartford-area towns of Glastonbury, Simsbury and West Hartford are worth a look. Each pairs a strong reputation with prices well below Fairfield County’s.

Results from the state’s own data

The 2026 town profiles report each district’s enrollment, four-year graduation rate and the share of tested students meeting the state standard^{32333435363738}. Statewide, the figures are 89 percent, 46 percent in math and 50 percent in English.

District	Students	Graduation	Met math	Met English
Darien	4,581	97%	83%	84%
Westport	5,266	96%	80%	81%
Madison	2,464	95%	80%	81%
Ridgefield	4,389	96%	78%	79%
Guilford	3,000	96%	71%	75%
Fairfield	9,012	95%	72%	72%
West Hartford	9,069	92%	62%	66%

Size matters when you read these. A district of 9,000 students runs more programs and more schools than one of 2,500 and a few points’ difference in test shares between two strong districts says little about any one classroom.

Rent before you buy

Renting for a school year in the district you like lets your child start school while you learn the town. It costs more in moving, but it avoids buying in the wrong place.

Ask the district whether renters and owners enroll the same way; they generally do, with proof of residence such as a lease and a utility bill. See new to Connecticut checklist and the town guides for Fairfield and Guilford and Madison.