West Hartford, Connecticut
USINFO | 2013-10-21 12:04

West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford.

The population was 63,268 at the 2010 census. The town is primarily an upmarket inner-ring suburb of Hartford. The town has a downtown area called "West Hartford Center". This area is centered around Farmington Avenue and South/North Main Street. West Hartford Center has been the community's hub since the late 17th century.

In 2010, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine listed West Hartford as one of the nation's "10 Great Cities for Raising Families." In 2010, Kiplinger's ranked West Hartford #9 on its "10 Best Cities for the Next Decade" list. In 2010, CNN Money ranked West Hartford as the 55th best small city in America. In 2010, the national online magazine Travelandleisure.com cited West Hartford as one of 10 "coolest" suburbs in the nation. The magazine called the West Hartford Reservoir off Farmington Avenue "West Hartford's version ofCentral Park," and it also noted the town's "vacation-worthy hot spots, with cutting-edge restaurants, great shopping, and plenty of parking."

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.3 square miles (57.7 km2), of which 21.9 square miles (56.6 km2) is land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km2), or 1.91%, is water.

The west side of West Hartford is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet Ridge in West Hartford include Talcott Mountain and a number of highland water reservoirs belonging to the Metropolitan District, which maintains watershed and recreation resources on the property. The 51-mile-long (82 km) Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge. The town's web site indicates that the highest point in town is 778 feet (237 m) above sea level on Talcott (Avon) Mountain. The altitude at Town Hall is 120 feet (37 m).

West Hartford is adjacent to and west of Hartford, the state capital, and borders Bloomfield, Newington, Farmington, and Avon. West Hartford is approximately 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Boston and 120 miles (190 km) northeast of New York City. Interstate 84 runs through West Hartford.

Demographics
As of the 2010 Census, there were 63,268 people, 25,258 households, and 16,139 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,888.9 people per square mile (1,117.0/km²). There were 25,332 housing units at an average density of 1,152.3/square mile (445.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 79.6%White, 6.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.4% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.8% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population.

There were 25,258 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% weremarried couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,061, and the median income for a family was $106,089 as of a 2011 estimate. Males had a median income of $69,888 versus $56,162 for females. The per capita incomefor the town was $45,453. About 3.7% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% ages 65 or older.

Educational institutions
In 2006 Money magazine ranked West Hartford as the 10th most educated town in the United States, as measured by the percentage of town residents holding graduate or professionaldegrees.[12] Connecticut Magazine 2006 rankings put West Hartford Public School education in the top three among all cities and towns in Connecticut for its population class of greater than 50,000 people, behind only Greenwich and Fairfield.

Public schools
The town is home to two public high schools, Conard High School and Hall High School, as well as 11 elementary schools and three middle schools in the West Hartford Public Schools. The elementary schools are Aiken, Braeburn, Bugbee, Charter Oak, Duffy, Morley, Norfeldt, Smith, Webster Hill, Whiting Lane and Wolcott. The three middle schools are King Philip, Sedgwick, and the newest, Bristow Middle School, located where Kingswood-Oxford Middle School was formerly located. The eleven elementary schools are evenly distributed to either King Philip or Sedgwick, and those that enroll at Bristow are chosen by lottery. After middle school, students continue onto high school with their same student body. Those at Sedgwick go on to Conard High School, while those at King Philip go to Hall High School, and students at Bristow return to the same school district they were in during elementary school.

 

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